(Chelsea Update would like to thank Jennifer Fairfield, owner of the Garden Mill, for the information in this column. Part 2 will run tomorrow.)
If you’re tired of winter, join us at the Garden Mill every Saturday this month for our annual Green Thumb Series of workshops. We have some great topics this year, and they’re guaranteed to help chase winter away. (Publisher’s note: The list of these workshops will publish on Monday, so be sure to check them out and make a reservation at 475-3539.)
Indoors
Finish getting your garden planned so you know what you need. Lots of garden stores – ours included – stock up early for spring, and when we run out of some things, they’re gone for the season. This is certainly true of seeds, but also sometimes other items, too. If you have your heart set on something for your garden this year, don’t wait until the weather is perfect, or you may miss out.
For the most part, seed starting begins in March. Parsley should be started now – it’s a bit slow to germinate, so it needs a little extra time to be ready for planting outdoors. Broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and most other herbs (other than rosemary, which should have been started in February, and the aforementioned parsley) should be started mid-month, though basil can be started at the end of the month, or in early April.
The brassica family of plants (cabbage, broccoli, etc.), are cool weather lovers and can be planted outside before the last frost – some as much as a full month early – so you need to get stared now so it will be ready to go in the garden in late April or early May.
There’s tradition that says Saint Patrick’s Day is the time to plant peas, but don’t believe it. That may be true for people in slightly warmer climates, but not generally in southeast Michigan, where we will be lucky if we can get peas in the ground around tax day. And even that wasn’t possible last year, but I have great hope that it will be this spring.
Around the end of the month or the first part of April, tomatoes and peppers should be started so that they will be mature enough to be planted by Memorial Day, which is always my target date for getting those in the garden. Waiting until then almost guarantees that there is no danger of frost, which these plants really can’t handle.
