Unstable Weather
We are in March, and spring will officially arrive in 20 days’ time. The days get longer but the weather is still unpredictable. At night, the temperature remains between minus two to zero degrees Celsius. In the daytime, the high reaches 8 to 9 degrees. With the freezing temperature, I am afraid that the morning frost will hurt the budding spring flowers. Despite the weather uncertainty, I still must prepare for the upcoming growing season of homegrown vegetables.
Ever since we moved to this house in 2021, I have started to pay more attention to the weather. The winter of 2022/2023 has overall been quite different from that of last year. The winter temperature in December was warmer than expected. It was warm enough for the ubiquitous spring primrose to show its face around Christmas. As for the other flowers, they started flowering earlier too. I recalled having the first glimpse of crocus in mid-February last year. However, this year was the beginning of the month.
Preparing the Vegetable Bed for the Growing Season
Regardless of the unstable weather, I need to start preparing the vegetable beds. This is to ensure that I get to enjoy homegrown vegetables in the summer. Last year, my first summer vegetable crop composed of cherry tomatoes (lots!), green lettuce, spinach, long beans, and herbs (basil and parsley). This year, I would like to expand the range to include pumpkins, courgettes, bell peppers, and chilies. It seems like an ambitious plan…but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Three Seeds, Three Stories
To start off the vegetable growing season, I have started with sowing the tomato seeds. This year, I have 3 types of seeds so far: 2 from my mother-in-law’s garden in Romania and one from the local gardening store. Since the weather is still too cold for cultivating the tomato plants outdoors, I have sowed the seeds in tiny pots which now sit on my veranda until the temperature gets much warmer, around the twenties.
The Ones That Might Come Back
I haven’t sowed any seeds from last year’s harvest of cherry tomatoes. This was because I was too lazy to do any seeding, so there are no new seeds this year. However, if I am lucky, the cherry tomato seeds from last year were naturally dispersed onto the vegetable patch and the seedlings will show themselves in late spring, without me having to do anything. That was what happened last summer: the previous owner’s bountiful tomato plants popped out without warning, and we reaped the fruits.
What's Next
This is the first time I am preparing the vegetable bed for tomato seeds. It seems that planting tomato seeds is not rocket science. Despite not being endowed with a green thumb, I hope to see some baby leaves in three weeks’ time. Positive news coming in three weeks…fingers crossed.