Today I planted beets, chard and scallions

We have had a rash of very warm weather earlier this week, starting way back about a week ago. But unlike every other gardener in Portland, I haven't set foot into the garden. In fact, I've spent the last six days inside, doing a major kitchen remodel. This is tangentially related to the CSA because I really do need a better place to process the weekly veggie harvest, and this will make room for a really nice processing area.



Yesterday was rainy, but last night and all day today was dry, so I took the opportunity to do some direct seeding which I was scheduled to do during the week. I planted about 4 feet of scallions and beets, and a full bed of swiss chard. I also used the dry weather to hoe all the beds since the grass was coming up, but I carefully left the grape hyacinths growing all over the place. I had forgotten that there was a field of them last year in the same spot. They're not doing any harm, so they get to live a little while longer.



I also screened one full bed using 1/4-inch wire mesh on a wooden frame. Some of the beds are very rocky, which makes planting quite difficult, so having nice smooth dirt is a luxury. Eventually I'd like to screen all the beds down about 4 or 6 inches.



The seeds I planted about three weeks ago are coming along nicely. The mustards and spinach are in that super-cute seed leaves stage where they look like little butterflies. And the raab is tall and tasty (I had one little nibble - couldn't resist). And so are the peas (again, I couldn't resist). The carrots are pretty much not germinating across the board, but that's not too much of a surprise. I prepped the potatoes bed, which will get planted this week. I actually have them in hand now, so after I get some drywall mudding done in the kitchen, I'll find some time to plant the taters.

Everything's looking very green and Spring-y!