Starts hardening off

This morning some of the starts that have been growing under lights in the garage are having a field trip out into the partially cloudy day. We still have at least five days until the last date of expected frost, so I’m going to give them a few hours a day up to all day over the next week or so as they get ready for possible planting on the 28th.

We have beets, two different kinds of tomato plants, three types of onions, Swiss chard, spinach, bush beans, cabbage, cucumbers and some flower starts pictured here.

Last night *something* went through the carrot patch and perfectly munched the Winter carrots, leaving the separated tops undisturbed on the soil. At least our raiders left us everything we need to make nice compost to grow more carrots!

The Last of the Winter Carrots

I got out a digging fork and gently dug around to find the last of the remaining carrots that have wintered over.  Next year I will do lots more of them. These were delicious and very welcome in stews and soups. There are a few small patches of carrots coming up and there are three or four varieties ready for the Dirt to Dinner kids to arrive on the 28th. My favorite way to plant them is using carrot tape, which I have just found out how to make oursevles, so I’ll be adding that to the project list.

Here’s what we ended up with when it was time to make lunch:

Romeos Ready to Cook

We have two different varieties of potatoes started and will be able to plant them in bags or various containers for the kids to experiment with. I can’t wait to see how they do. We should be able to start eating new potatoes about half way through our program.

Potatoes Growing Eyes

Eye See You