![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/IMG_8268-300x225.jpg\" "\\"Broccoli")
<\/a>March 5 broccoli planting in the front yard garden<\/p><\/div>\n
I also had been checking the ten-day forecast every day leading up to planting day.\u00a0 The weather gurus were predicting no nighttime temperatures lower than 33 or 34.\u00a0 I thought I’d be o.k., that it was worth the risk.\u00a0 First experiment: a success.<\/p>\n
The spinach and radishes I’d planted from seed in early February were sweetly stretching their little arms up toward the sky.\u00a0 Because of those few nights dipping into the twenties that week, I covered the spinach in Jones not wanting to risk losing the results of my early February planting coup<\/a>.\u00a0 Since Smith was farther away (and I’ll be using it mostly for warm weather plants anyway), I let the spinach and radish sprouts over there fend for themselves: the second experiment.<\/p>\n Cautiously Covered<\/p><\/div>\n As if worrying about cold at night wasn’t enough to keep me busy, the days that week were sunny and clear with temperatures in the low fifties.\u00a0 I fretted, especially while taking my lunchtime walk under the noon sun, that the spinach seedlings at Jones under the plastic would get too hot and succumb.\u00a0 Because it’s in a community garden four blocks from our house, I wasn’t able to get over there before having to leave for work in the morning.<\/p>\n As with a lot of my worries, everything turned out fine.\u00a0 Both spinach plantings survived, the uncovered the cold, and the covered warm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" …or at least collaborating with it to grow things Last year I planted a portion of the spring plants I started from seed, not being sure if they would survive or not.\u00a0 In retrospect it seemed timid and haphazard.\u00a0 This … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/IMG_8176-225x300.jpg\" "\\"Cover")
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