Not quite spring weather

     Ok, so I have been pushing it.  A two day stretch of 60's and 70's last week started the juices flowing.  Some pea starts and onion seedlings went in the ground, as well as eight small cabbage that were a gift.  All cold hardy plants.  But yuck, the forecast lows for the next five nights are 22, 22, 27, 23, and 25 degrees.  The cabbage has already suffered from weather not as bad.  So, it is back to the cold protection bag of tricks.

Homemade cloche

      Using a safety razor, I made a starter cut along the label from a two liter bottle.  Then the little scissors were used to cut off the bottom.

Six done quickly

     Six cloches were made pretty quickly.  The bottoms can be used to plant some seeds, plus the bottoms stack, a huge space savings.

Blellevue, 3/24/11

     So I tromped over to the park this morning where it was not even 34 degrees yet.  Cold, damp, and gray.  The little cloches fit nicely over the cabbage starts that had new growth emerging from the previous frost damage.  The green plants between the plastic bottles are fava beans.  I am gambling that they will stand up to the cold, as supposedly they can be planted in the fall to overwinter.

English podded peas and tango lettuce, 3/24/11

     The next worry was the newly planted snap peas, the English podded peas, and the Tango lettuce.  The plastic sleave used as one of the first instant cold frames for the 2010 winter season was pressed back into temporary service.

Bellevue, 3/24/11

     Instant protection, to be left on for a few days.  The bed of onions that wintered over without protection can be seen in front of the new plastic tunnels.  I have been snitching the scallions already.  The newly planted Walla Walla onion starts will just have to survive on their own.
     Hopefully this is just a short delay before better growing weather.  Garden on,  George