Thyme is on my side

Guess I wasn't the only one waiting for the thaw. These thyme sprigs popped out of the melting snow to greet me.

Darn groundhog! Okay, so we've got six more weeks of winter. I've had a lot of winter in the past 10 days! After the snow day of my last post, I shoveled many sidewalks many times, tended my frozen pond, had some very expensive work done on my minivan, shivered through several sub-zero nights, got six more inches of snow (no snow day, rats!) and took Daddy Cat to the vet for some mouth surgery. He's fine and has already forgiven me.

And . . . I called Uncle Jim's Worm Farm. My 2000 Red Wigglers are on their way! I've made a big worm farm out of three Rubbermaid tubs. This one will stay in my basement. For my own amusement, I think I'll also have a smaller worm farm in the kitchen. I'll build it out of cast-off buckets. Fresh fruit salad is delivered to the sorority house in these buckets. I couldn't bear to throw them out. Now I'm glad I kept them.

The BIG THAW started today. It was probably in the 50's. I had the back door open most of the afternoon. We'll hit 60 degrees next week. Naturally, my thoughts turned to spring.

In Indiana (zone 5) we can plant lettuce in March, providing the ground isn't frozen. Lettuce can endure cold nights that are above freezing. So I dug out my planting plug trays and planted lettuce seeds, spinach seeds and leek seeds. I planted some bunching green onion seeds about a week ago. They've sprouted already. I'll move my little plants outside on warm days as soon as weather permits, bringing them in at night when temps drop below freezing. For sprouting, I use old disposable catering trays with clear lids for my indoor greenhouses. When the plants get bigger, they don't need the lids anymore. I put the trays under shop lights in my basement.

I planted several different lettuces. I found a bibb mix that had red and green varieties. I also planted seeds from a mesclun mix and some Romaine. My favorite red oak leaf is Brunia, so I planted some of that, too. I'm looking forward to salad days!

I'll be placing my order for summer crop seeds soon. I'm still studying my seed catalogs and looking for weird offerings. I'll plant my summer crop seeds in the basement greenhouse over Spring Break in early March.

Then I'll start thinking about potatoes and peas, which can be planted outdoors on Good Friday, weather permitting. That's April 10 this year.

(Melissa - has this banished your winter doldrums? Think Spring!)