Hopeful signs...

I admit it - I have been known to plant a row of vegetable seeds and after waiting what I think is a reasonable time (which has nothing to do with what it says on the seed package) and not seeing any results I sort of dig around in the row to see what's happening.  Alright, I dig up some of the seeds - it's not like I rape the row or anything - I just want to make sure things are doing ok!

This spring has been an exception to the rule (pretty much) - most of what I've planted so far has practically leaped out of the ground!  I was especially excited to see the onion seedlings.  I was sure that I had planted the seeds too early and that the cold snap had destroyed any hope of their survival.  I'd not tried onions from seed before and was really bummed.

Then the other day I noticed that they were not only up, they were up more than an inch.  Very hard to see (as you can tell from the picture) cause they are very thin but there they were.  It may not look too impressive considering that the little pebbles in the soil look bigger than they do but bear with me here - I thought they were dead.  Admittedly you have to have your nose almost on the ground but they are visible.

Tiny baby onion seedlings

You can almost always count on the peas to come up - last spring I actually crawled over a snow bank to plant them and was harvesting peas before the end of June.  This year I planted in the first week of April and they are up and growing just like they are supposed to - very gratifying.

And you don't even have to bend over to see them!

The other item that absolutely sprang out of the ground is the beets.  Now honesty compels me to admit that I have totally sucked at raising beets in the past.  I don't know if it was the soil or the seeds or the watering or the too much watering but I never had much luck.  This year is the first time I've even had a good germination rate.  So naturally in my mind I am already putting up pint after pint of pickled beets - a family favorite.

The seedlings that look like butterfly wings are actually radishes - planted as a row marker.

The lettuce and radishes I planted in the brown planter are up but even I don't think you can see them in a picture - I only can cause I know they are there but soon I hope they will have grown big enough to have you believe me.  Below is what things looked like last year so I have high hopes for a repeat in 2016.

All of the above is just the reaffirmation that I look for every spring:  the gardens are growing, the plants will produce and the woodchuck froze to death over the winter.  Alright, I know that's not nice but it's from the heart.  Once you have seen a row of plants (it was carrots last summer) that you have nurtured and babied and watered and hope to actually get to eat reduced to what appears to be a row of dirt you tend to develop a somewhat uncharitable attitude towards whatever did the deed.  And as far as I'm concerned any varmint that actually eats zucchini plants and leaves is just asking to get relocated.  Hey, I had to BUY zucchini or bum them from my friends last summer just to make the zucchini relish that everyone loves so much. 

So at least short term my optimism is in high gear and I hope I have inspired at least a few of you to get a pot and some seeds and get it done!