Yesterday was pretty busy for me, but I really did have time to plant my spinach in time. I just let time get away from me. So at 5pm with spinach seeds in my hand I was ready to go out to plant finally. It was getting cold, but there was still plenty of light.
Then the phone rings. It is my daughter. She is at Brandeis checking out the professors for grad school. She had had enough of it all, even though they were putting her up for the night. It was just too noisy and too chaotic. She loved the small group interviews though and loved the high energy physics department and thought the school was good. Anyway I put my seeds down and went to get her, because that's what a mother does.
I thought about those seeds all the way there. I started chitting them on Wednesday. They needed to get in today. There were already little roots coming out of the seeds. Two days is really the longest you can chit spinach seeds before they grow into the paper towels. I figured my daughter owed me one, so I had her hold up a flashlight while I planted the seed. It wasn't ideal. My fingers were numb before I finished. I forgot to fertilize the bed before planting - no worries since I'll side dress after they are up. And since the light was dim I think the spinach seeds were not perfectly at 3" spacings. Some had two or more seeds instead of one in a spot. But at least they got in. I hastily covered them with some remay, but without hoops since I was freezing. I just wanted a covering for this weekend since we were getting pouring rain. This will keep the soil in place if the rain get too heavy.
Next time I'll do it in the morning, instead of putting it off for later in the day. Yeah like that will happen.
I love this post:) Be sure to email me when she makes a decision!
ReplyDeleteWhat a good mom! THe seeds will be fine. Good luck to her!
ReplyDeleteA dedicated gardener will go out of the ordinary with gardening... At times we pick one or two spinach after dark fresh for Kakdah's menu... ~bangchik
ReplyDeleteI love your title Daphne! I have done that too ... friends used to think me mad for working in the garden with a flashlight! I am jealous you can plant spinach already ... here we still have snow! Congratulations on your daughters efforts... physics! WE need minds like hers! Well Done! Must be all those healthy greens!! Happy Gardening to you! Carol
ReplyDeleteLOL! When the spinach needs to be planted, the spinach needs to be planted! Glad you were able to get the seeds in the ground.
ReplyDeleteThe important thing is you got it in ! I suspect remay and agribon are brand names or is there a difference between the two products ?
ReplyDeleteNow that's what I call a dedicated gardener...hehe.
ReplyDeleteDedicated mother AND gardener! Good for you. And good for your daughter for not suggesting that you invest in a headlamp.
ReplyDeleteYeah for planting the first seeds of the year!
ReplyDeleteI have a few friends that went to Brandeis for their undergrads. Great school.
Love it! You have the best of both!!! The heart of a good gardener and the heart of a great mum! Your seedlings will only be the better ...
ReplyDeleteYou gardened by flashlight? Doesn't everybody?
ReplyDeleteYou know, Daphne, I think you and I are normal. It's everyone else that's not.
I am glad someone else has done that! I thought I was going over the edge transplanted raspberry or strawberry starts in the dark and cold because they NEEDED to go in and could not wait. I did not have a flashlight holding helper and used one of our "power's out" emergency headlamps.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I have to confess to going out with a torch in the winter to catch earwigs.... the things we do for our gardens!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you went to get your daughter. And you got a nighttime gardening adventure out of it, complete with numb fingers. I felt my fingers go numb the day I planted all the mustard seeds back in February, and so I sympathize. However, you did your duty by your baby and your baby sprouted seeds, so it's all good.
ReplyDeleteWe gardened by flashlight several times last August when the heat was just too overwhelming to get everything done in the daylight hours -- and many mornings I was at work in the garden by 5:00, when it was still cool enough to think. :)
Karen I'll let you know.
ReplyDeleteRibbit, thanks
Bangchick, I don't usually garden in the dark (except for slug hunts), but sometimes you just have to.
Carol, I looked it up and last year the spinach went in on March 17th, so I'm five days early this year.
GrafixMuse, me too
Miss M, remay is the generic name of Agribon. My remay is indeed Agribon.
EG, :>
Stefaneener, well I do have a headlamp, but it isn't very powerful. It is a very old little LED headlamp.
The Mom, we are still waiting for three more schools to respond, but hopefully the process will all be over soon.
kiwi gomes, I hope so
Granny, Oh yes gardening by flashlight is perfectly normal ;>
kitsapFG, oh when something needs to get done, it gets done. If they could have waited, I would have. I'm not fond of freezing to death for my garden, but I'll do it.
Funkbunny, I do that with slugs.
Meredith, yup and the pain of frozen fingers gets forgotten, but the spinach will be loved for quite a while. I'm still eating last spring spinach that I froze.