What a spring we have had! Erratic whether, moisture, crisp cool air, and really spring greens like nothing better! I have begun harvesting multiple pounds of Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, Chard and Chinese Cabbage every week and just wish I had more garden space to plant more.
If you are doing succession planting in your garden planning, timing and leaving space for the future is everything!! You have to think about how long it will take for a head of lettuce to produce,(about 60 days in the spring) and then plan what you will pop in its place once harvested. In these pictures above and below you can see I planted Cabbage babies among the cut and come again Lettuce, so that by the time the Lettuce is bitter the Cabbage will take over.
I usually plant a lot of cut and come again varieties of Lettuce, Spinach and Kale and Chard so I don’t have to keep planting…but this year I knew I could sneak in a bunch of head Lettuce before the warm season crops needed the square footage, so now the garden is full of butterhead and romaine varieties so I can remove the whole plant and put in warm season crops the same day…..lots of salad ahead for Mama’s Mini Farm CSA!
The next three days are leaf days, so in go the last of my greenhouse Romaine starts and I will be sowing directly more Cilantro, Spinach, Arugula and Lettuce. Possibly for the last time till mid July, as once my attention and garden space goes towards the warm season crops I simply don’t have enough room or time for greens…not to mention when the weather heats up many of these spring babies go bitter or bolt quickly. Luckily my Chard and Kale keep pumping through the heat and I may not even need to replant them if I care for them right…
Which is to say I have found that if you shade cool season greens in the high summer they really like it and last longer. As you already know I am a huge fan of row cover for a long list of reasons… but when it gets too hot and plants don’t get enough fresh air they can get very flimsy and over succulent. So much so that they couldn’t survive one day in full exposure and they will just turn to mush before your eyes, so I try to gradually remove the row covers for more and more hours at a time to toughen them up to the real world.
I often raise the row cover so wind and beneficial insects can find their way in on the ends, because another set back of having your crops under constant cover is pests, namely good old aphids can take over while you aren’t watching.
At some point when cool spring breezy days shift to hot summer days, Often around June 1st. I take the row cover off all together and replace it with shade screen. This lets light, water, and beneficials in, but it takes the edge off those sweltering afternoons that will cause a cilantro to bolt in one day!
I have found in full sun gardens these shades are very helpful for almost all crops even warm season crops, throughout the whole summer. I have learned my lesson with more than one June hail storm destroying my precious babes! More info on what to use is in this previous post.
So if you aren’t out there already….get sowing!! You can plant pretty much any cool season crops, flowers and roots right now and in a few short weeks it will be tomato time!! Hooray! 
Just a little reminder that 
I have written many times about growing sprouts at home cause it is just so darn easy and rewarding. I have lots of friends out there who simply can’t start vegetables indoors but sprouts only require attention for 10 days or so and really only need heat and water and a little sunshine.
Today is a flower day and since this June I want to be filled with flowers I am starting Cosmos& Snapdragons in the greenhouse today. It is an experiment, as usually I am too focused on vegetables to even think about flowers this time of year and frankly I direct seed most of my flowers anyway…But today I plant flowers inside and so might you if you wish to experiment. These are both pretty cool hardy flowers so they will go out sooner than the other things and hopefully provide me with early blooms.
Friday is a flower day too and then goes into a leaf day. Saturday is full leaf day and so I hope to tuck in those Spinach seeds I didn’t get to last weekend. The chicken are in the chicken tractor right down doing the tilling for me.
I will then boldly plant peas outside for Sunday, Monday and Tuesdays fruit sign (Leo). I will soak them over night first and then tuck them in, as I think my soil will be warm from here on out and I have seen peas in the snow anyhow! I will also use Leo to aid my greenhouse plantings of Peppers, Eggplants and Tomatoes, (I usually start the big slicers first, the cherry tomatoes can wait till later).
I plan to share my happenings here, but wanted to you to get prepared and dust off those seeds if you plan to plant along. Since it feels like May out there we might as well act like it!!
What can I say, this winter has brought lots of hibernation and big changes that have needed my attention….so my friends, sadly there is no calendar this year. Luckily these hands know what to do and I am happy to share with all of you through my blog what I am up to in the garden and greenhouse this season.
If I set up some row cover I may just plant Spinach outside…But then I have to start watering out there and I am not sure I am ready for that! But let’s just say I Could.
All this said, I do have a passive solar greenhouse and have very particular temperature and light conditions, so even though I can start stuff indoors it may not quite be time for you. The best way is to try of course, or your could come to my class and I can help you find the right conditions and timing for your situation! Happy gardening!
Seeds & Stones 