Today, I shall not discuss snow and snow shoveling. I think I've clearly established that I'm tired of the precipitation type and the action required to remove it from places where I walk. Tomorrow, we're supposed to have a little more, as in 1-3" of snow mixed in with rain. I can deal with it because after that, temperatures will be in the 40's all week. Let the snowmelt BEGIN!
Did I say I wasn't going to discuss snow? I digressed. It's hard not to. It's still February, after all.
But, I am here to talk about spring fever, which I have and it's right on time, and how I deal with it. I have need of green and not just the green of my houseplants. I need new green, new growth, that which can only come from starting seeds. Some might say that it's too early for it. I say they're wrong. January is too early. I started tomatoes one time in January and had fruit developing in March. Much as I love home-grown tomatoes because the flavor usually runs circles around store-bought, my early crop was a little boring, or what I refer to as cardboardy, and I vowed never to let my spring fever control my gardener ways like that again.
Late February is still a little early to be starting veggies. But herbs, now that's a different story. If all you want is green, starting herbs now is the way to go. It's all leaves, all green, all shiny and new, and it does a spring fevered heart good to see them pop through the surface of the soil and make their way into the world.
So, I headed toward my local produce store, where they always have their seed display out by January 1st each year. They also have a greenhouse, where I'll go when I need a serious "fix" of exposure to flowers, herbs and developing vegetable plants. I wandered up and down the rows of seeds, looking at the pictures on the packets and knowing damn well my plants were never going to look that good. I had specific plans on herb seed starting - sage, rosemary, and thyme (no, silly – parsley is started later in the season). Last year, I started sage, thyme and oregano, but I only got the oregano to winter over inside and it's gotten seriously scraggly looking - not enough sunlight, mostly. But by the time the seeds get growing, there will be light aplenty. So I plunked down my green paper (money) for five packets of spring fever remedy and headed home.
What I forgot in my glee of buying those seeds was the soil to start them. Yeah, Lauren, something to grow them in. Duh! It's okay, I can wait two days to go get that. Why not go tomorrow? Because it's going to snow – again.
Only 27 days until Spring.
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