The Heritage Garden for 2017

Today, March 22nd, I began with my first spring plantings. It felt good to be working the warm soil of spring again, and to be laying off works for cropswhich will soon be springing to life.

During the morning hours I cut up seed potatoes and spread them out to seal over. When left out and exposed to the hot sun, the cut surfaces of the potatoesseal over in less than two hours. In the afternoon, I dropped the seed potatoes in the furrows-- a process that I have repeated for sixty-three years.

Next came the planting of onion sets and white multipler onions, and my final task of the afternoon was seeding a row of English peas.

One thing that never changed over the years in my constant checking of seeded rows to see if the seedlings have broken through the surface yet. It's justone of those things. I know that nothing will be up by the following day, but I go out and have a look anyway.

John Coykendall, Master Gardener