The fun of over-wintering

One of the very fun, and very tangible benefits of over-wintering vegetables are being enjoyed by all right now. The canoe garden is full of onions and garlic, cabbage, swiss chard and other greens and the over-wintered pansies are in bloom and going crazy. The colors and blossoms and pollinator activity are such a welcome scene in late winter/early spring.

We have other containers that are a mix of landscape perennials, grasses, herbs, shrubs, pansies and edible greens like cabbage and swiss chard. The other enjoyable color that pollinators are enjoying are the daffodils and crocus and iris that are blooming all around the school.

We try to keep something in bloom outdoors year round and that is why we overwinter pansies. Spring bulbs offer an easy, low-maintenance way to achieve early spring blooms.

As I trimmed, and cleaned and mulched I also planted some sugar-snap peas in some of the containers which we should be eating in 55-65 days.

What, no snow?

So, no snow. We can see the soil in the canoe garden again - and much of the soil around the school. Most of the soil at-grade will be too wet to work for a while, but our container gardens offer opportunities for sugar-snap peas - can you tell I love them? Our onions, garlic, cabbage, and swiss chard seem to have survived the blizzards. Oh, how will this constant sogginess affect them?

So you may have read about our mice saga within our seeds we are starting indoors. Mrs. Primm was watering this morning and found 2, two, 1+1, 5-3 mice LOUNGING, full and content, in one of the containers. Well, she pounced, and pounced again, catching the mice within the container and released them far away from the building...

Our herbs are rockin' and we can start to transplant next week. My, how will Manga Monday enjoy fresh herbs from our new plantings again! Our teaching kitchen is thriving (going on three years of education and inspiration) and we love to be supplying fresh, whole foods again from our own urban farm.

I saw a flock of Robins yesterday - spring must be coming soon - start to look for those crocus!!!!