Spring?

This was a long and brutal winter, as I am sure most of you already know.  I'm normally not that bothered by the cold, and I actually like the snow.  But for me, this winter was an incredibly busy December followed by an unemployed January.  In theory, January sounds like the perfect time to snuggle up under a blanket indoors with the fake fireplace, avoiding the polar vortex and several feet of snow.  In practice, the isolation really affected me.  I had the SADS and had no energy to do anything.  I felt like a waste of space.  I acted like a waste of space.  I lolled around in a depressed state, wishing for winter to be over.

So, obviously, I'm really ready for spring.  Now there's a little more warmth and sunshine.  I've been able to get back out on my bike.  I've stepped back to decorative scarves, rather than warm scarves.  And the biggest sign of spring for me:  green things growing!

As for my green things, broccoli was the first to make an appearance, which surprised me. I tried direct-sowing broccoli last year and never got a peep.  It seems starting indoors is definitely the way to go.  The borage, basil, and thyme are up, as are all the tomatoes--including the seeds from a random heirloom tomato I ate like three years ago. (I saved those seeds on a whim, without treating them properly, and never actually expected to plant them. I had one open spot in my jiffy trays and tossed those seeds in just for the hell of it. I am excited to see what it produces.)  I've even got a few peppers beginning to make their way up.  They normally take a long time to germinate, so I'm happy to see them starting.  Nothing yet from the eggplant (I may need to warm it to get it to germinate) and there are still a few quiet pepper plants.

From left to right:  eggplant, thyme, basil, borage

Several kinds of peppers, broccoli, and heirloom tomato in the bottom right corner

Roma tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, peppers

Outside, it's a slightly different story.  I checked on my window box of greens a few days after sowing, and discovered that squirrels had torn it up.  They did the same thing a few times last year, pulling up my purslane and kale seedlings.  (Last year, I started my lettuce and greens indoors in jiffy pots.  I direct sowed this year because I am lazy and didn't have the energy to carry a bag of dirt home from the store, which I would need to fill my jiffy pots.  Let's be real here.)  I am in the process of securing a few milk jugs to create cloches, and we'll see if that helps keep the squirrels away.  As it is, I have three lettuce seedlings.  Three.  Nothing from the kale, chard, spinach, or purslane.

I also sowed a few herbs and flowers outside, in a small pot, and the lavender is up.  Nothing yet from calendula and chamomile.

I'd like to use this blog as a bit of a garden journal, so that I can use it as a reference in the coming years.  (Like, maybe next year I will remember to start with cloches so I don't toss out seeds for the squirrels.  One can hope.)  I apologize if it gets tedious to read about various green things germinating.  For me, though, there are few greater miracles in life than seeing that first bit of green pop out above the dirt.  Ah, spring!

(Although, this is Chicago.  It is likely that there will be at least one more snow in April.  Our last frost date isn't until May 15.  So it's really Spring?  Whatever, I'll enjoy it as it comes.)