Spring has arrived

I took the day off yesterday (Friday) so I could have three whole days dedicated to gardening. I know, sometimes you just got to have your priorities straight. I planned this day off over a month ago in anticipation of warmer weather. Boy did I get lucky! The temperature was 65oF yesterday, 55oF today, and tomorrow is supposed to be nearly 70oF. The weather outlook for the next ten days is looking equally good. Woohoo. Spring has arrived! 

Yesterday I spent several hours removing weeds and tilling two of the vegetable gardens. Of course this did not happen without incident. I am sadden to report that I killed a baby bunny while tilling one of the raised beds. What a horrible accident! The lesson here: first check for rabbit holes before using any mechanized equipment in the garden. RIP little bunny.

Garlic growing in raised bed (foreground);
"greenhouse" (background)

Thankfully, today was far less traumatic. I transplanted broccoli, napa cabbage, and onion seedlings outside. These are cool weather vegetables that are hardy enough to withstand a light frost should the temperatures dip. As an added precaution, I covered these plants with plastic tunnel. This tunnel works like a greenhouse to block the wind, raise the daytime temperature, and to hold in heat at night to prevent frost from damaging the leaves. In addition, I directly sowed carrot, turnip, radish, scallion, and snap pea seeds into the ground. These too are cool weather vegetables that can be seeded prior to the last frost. Since there are no leaves yet, I am not worried about frost damage. Hopefully the weather cooperates and these seeds can get a good start.