Heritage Red Raspberry
It was beginning to feel like winter would never end, but spring is officially here. We got our berries in, and I spent this sunny Saturday morning out in the garden planting seeds.
Ed helped me get the soil ready, and I planted Johnny jump-ups along the fence, then got to work planting everything that could go into the ground now. I planted many different varieties of salad greens but made sure not to plant too many lettuces that will all be ready at the same time, to avoid waste. We’ll use succession plantings (I left room) so that we’ll have a nice supply of lettuce throughout the spring, summer and fall. The salad greens planted include a baby lettuce mix, lamb’s lettuce, buttercrunch, four seasons lettuce, rouge d’hiver (a red romaine that we loved last year), Cherokee crisphead, green butterhead and red butterhead. I’m daydreaming about those fresh salads.
I also planted some red, yellow, white and purple carrots, in addition to the traditional orange ones. We love to eat roasted carrots and I can imagine how pretty the multicolored version will look.
A few red cabbage seeds filled in the row that the overwintered spinach occupies, and I’m imagining the cute little heads of cabbage coming in. One of my favorite fairy tales has always been Rapunzel, and so I think the cabbage is fitting in my garden. Rapunzel was named after the cabbage that her mother stole from the witch, resulting in the witch taking the baby… I know, what an awful story! But I just liked her long hair. Perhaps I’ll call my cabbage “rapunzel” from now on.
I planted some leek and scallion seeds, which I’ve never grown before. I’m excited to see how they do this year, and thinking about the different recipes I’ll use them in. The scallions will be great in my crab cakes or crab cake burgers.
Finally, I planted some sugar snap peas where Ed moved the trellis. I had tried to move it myself, but I quickly realized that I’m not strong enough to use a sledge hammer with one hand while holding the post in the other. I can’t wait to pick those green pods.
Farmer's Daughter 