VIRGINIA BEACH — There is a longstanding practice of putting your potatoes into the ground on St. Patrick’s Day. It isn’t just Irish tradition of when to plant an important crop. It’s notable in the U.S.
The seed companies sure know it.
A decade back, Burpee’s chairperson pronounced that planting on the holiday is a “deeply rooted tradition” in a statement to the media. If nothing else, the pun industry continues to grow whenever seed companies send out press releases.
Potatoes may not be in your gardening plans, but the approach of March means it is time to start thinking about spring plantings and the sorts of seeds you can turn into flourishing plants and tasty meals.
Peas, spinach, kale and more can be on the early spring menu. Even now, you can plan for spring planting and, depending upon what you want to grow, start the seeds that eventually will populate your garden in the spring and beyond.
For those who want to grow from seeds, rather than buying plants, it is possible to start growing now. The obvious challenge is the cold weather. Seeds should be started in controlled conditions and kept warm, generally 70 to 75 degrees regularly. That means a greenhouse, use of a growing lamp or the ability to either keep them indoors or to move them there when it is needed.
Generally speaking, peas go in the ground early – perhaps even before potatoes. It is said that they tend to wait in the ground until the conditions are right. That means they can go in the ground when it can be worked. A goal is to have a crop before the heat takes over.
I like to grow from seeds, but I realize I am working on a different scale from a home gardener. One benefit of seeds is cost. It’s a lot cheaper to start from seeds than to buy a plant somebody else started.
I get a better plant starting with good seeds, but a home gardener might sensibly only buy a plant or two to plant them when they need it.
Another late winter activity is preparing the soil for the year to come. It’s always a good time to put in compost. You’re feeding the soil, and well-fed soil will do much of the hard work of feeding the plant for you.
As I have written here many times, my approach to gardening and farming is to make the soil better and stronger as a continuous process. There is nothing better for your soil than good compost, and you can also help it with worm castings and trace minerals.
There are reasons not to turn the soil too early. Some beneficial bugs may be hibernating under the leaves next to the soil. And you want to avoid turning your soil when it is too wet.
I prefer to turn soil using a garden fork when I can because this is preferable to rotor tilling. The garden fork does less damage to the soil. That is, of course, easier said than done when you have a big area to turn.
Now is the time of year to not only think about the spring garden but to consider the entire year.
Just like a farmer, a serious gardener needs to think about the year ahead and the cycles of planting, growth and – fingers crossed – harvest.
I’m already thinking about corn, for example, which generally is a crop I might expect to see within a couple of months, depending upon the variety. Starting with seed takes a little more time, so I need to factor that into planning if, say, I want corn at my market in June.
The math isn’t all that hard, really, though the fates can be a bit fickle.
Planning ahead is important. If nothing else, it puts you in the best position to adapt to weather and other issues that may arise.
I plan to try to start my corn from seed early, put them under row covers to protect them from the cold and then plant before bugs come out. It’s an experiment this year. It may mean I have corn a bit on the early side, but having corn does not tend to be a bad problem to have.
If you’re going to plant early, the most important thing to watch is the weather because you need to understand how it will affect what you grow. You may need to be ready to cover crops.
But, with just a little thought and attention to your goals, readiness is something you certainly can achieve.
The author is a farmer and consultant who writes about sustainable farming and gardening for The Independent News. Reach him via farmerjohnnewearth@yahoo.com.
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