March, the most shifty of all months

March is not to be trusted, ever. No where in the world is March a good month. So your best bet is to stay the course and get on with starting your seeds.

Which is exactly what I did. They are now up and reaching for the lights in the guest room. Poor things, they look thin, stringy, weak everything you don’t want your seedlings to look like. Which is why I encourage you to buy yours at one of our excellent local nurseries.

The reason they look so weak is: I didn’t lower the lights. They need to be right at the top of the soil so the seeds have something to look forward to when they germinate.

I’ll wait for these seedlings to offer a little more leaf before I transplant them into larger containers, in the meantime they will need to make do and I have lowered the lights.

We’re considering shoveling out the door to the greenhouse before this next storm (if there is one) so I can start messing around out there. I want to fluff up the fresh compost that went in the bins last fall, plus I like to add alfalfa meal. No heat yet, not until April 1st and then only if the weather looks promising.

Isn’t this fun? Something to think about, something to anticipate.

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Rosemary Fitzpatrick, the Kachemak Gardener

Having arrived in Alaska May, 1972 I have had much to contend with on the gardening front. The impetus to start gardening can be traced directly to empty grocery store shelves in 1973 due to a Teamsters strike. That was a wake up call. The first garden was on a gravel pad in Eagle River, the second in Wasilla. That one was rounded out with two goats, a flock of chickens and our two children. The third in Homer, where we settled in 1978, is the spot where much was learned. Starting in 1990 I have written the Kachemak Gardener in an attempt to encourage new gardeners and those of you who have tried and failed. Stick with me, let’s get you gardening.

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