It IS spring, it REALLY IS!

I was lazy last spring and didn't clean out my Earthboxes. I've been looking at dead okra, tomatoes and tomato plants, basil, etc all winter.

It was finally warm enough today and the snow all gone, so I started cleaning. When I started on the herb box, I removed the dead chives. As soon as I removed them, I saw the little green spears coming up through the soil.

Ah, I just love spring.

My chives are sprouting too-- irrepressible! I also have a flower bud emerging on my largest hellebore. I'm so excited!

Jen

Our lime leaf tree came back to life. I can't wait to gorge on ramps!

garcho wrote:Our lime leaf tree came back to life. I can't wait to gorge on ramps!

I planted a few hundred ramp seeds last autumn (as directed on the package) and have been poking around to see if anything ramp-like seems to be rearing its head. Nothing yet.

[quote="David Hammond" I planted a few hundred ramp seeds last autumn (as directed on the package) and have been poking around to see if anything ramp-like seems to be rearing its head. Nothing yet.[/quote]

I planted ramps seeds as well. Nothing yet here either.

Mary

you guys could be in for a long wait.

Although ramp seeds can be sown anytime the soil is not frozen, late summer to early fall is usually considered the best time for seeding ramps. Fresh ramp seeds have a dormant, under-developed embryo. The seed requires a warm, moist period to break root dormancy and a subsequent cold period to break shoot dormancy. Some years there is enough warm weather after sowing in late summer or early fall to break root dormancy. The following winter cold breaks shoot dormancy and the plants emerge in spring. If there is not an adequate warm period after sowing, the seed will not germinate until the second spring. Thus, ramp seeds can take 6 to 18 months to germinate. Case in point, in Fletcher, N.C., ramp seeds sown in fall 1999 and spring 2000 all germinated in April 2001. Being able to provide adequate soil moisture and protection from wildlife are other key factors in determining where and when to sow seeds. Production from sowing seeds to root harvest can take 5 to 7 years.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-133.html