Mid-Atl - Apr 2017 - April Showers bring . . .

Have you started planting yet? If so, what's out now? Anything left over from your fall/winter garden? What do you plan to grow this year? Anything new?

I've started peas and have had to throw some plastic over them a couple times, but they look good.

I still have kale and garlic that was planted in the fall.

I'm really behind in my planning, but of course tomatoes.

New things are cardoons and ground cherries.

Mud. April showers bring mud. I need more woodchips for my garden paths.

I have started planting - more inside than out. The seedlings outside just got true leaves - lettuces, mustards, edible chrysanthemum, and komatsuna. The indoor seedlings are outpacing them. The weather isn't cooperating with hardening off - can't slowly acclimate to full sun if there isn't any... The peas (and favas and chickpeas) will go in this weekend.

I've got half my tomatoes started, and a few of my eggplants and peppers have hatched. I've got a huge batch of things to start this weekend, including the other half of the tomatoes - and redoing the two from the first batch that are being stubborn.

I still have collards, leeks, perennial herbs, and the greens I overwintered low-tunnel style. The kale is still out there, but looking poorly. The garlic that got plastic for a few days is mostly up through the mulch, the garlic that did not is probably just barely up underneath its straw mulch. I figured I'd wait until after these cold rains.

I'm trying many new varieties of plants I've grown before - lots of different tomatoes, peppers, basils, lettuces; tromboncino squash....
But all new plants this year are: wintercress, chickweed, "dandelion" (actually a chicory type), Hon Tsai Tai, Tokyo Bekana, sorrel, parsley root, stinging nettle, musho, and balangu. I'm also retrying shiso, orach, ice lettuce (not an actual lettuce), fenugreek, and saltwort, which I attempted but failed last year.

Beetles, why are you intentionally growing stinging nettles?  I have some you can have!  All your other new stuff sounds so exotic!

Scorpio Rising wrote:Beetles, why are you intentionally growing stinging nettles?  I have some you can have!  All your other new stuff sounds so exotic!

The CSA I used to use offered stinging nettles as part the spring shares. I was really nervous about trying them the first time, and making sure I cooked them enough to kill the sting (it actually doesn't take long)... but I quite enjoyed them, enough that I miss them. They are even quite healthful. If you've got them, and they are still young/short you should give them a try. Use gloves to harvest and prep (chop), and give them a quick cook.
https://www.diynatural.com/stinging-nettle-how-to-identify-harvest-and-eat/
They are a bit like spinach, but less... metallic? and more... bright? acidic? herby?

Admittedly, I'm probably going to sow the nettles back by the creek (it looks like the sort of place they'd grow naturally), and not in my SFG where I might bump into them!

Mostly it's "weeds" and Asian herbs/vegetables. The balangu is from Baker Creek:
http://www.rareseeds.com/balangu-lallemantia-royleana-mountain-balm/
This is probably silly, but I felt sorry for it - it has no reviews, it feels like no one has given it a chance. So I figured I'd give it a go.  ... And either I got the last one, or others felt the same way as it appears to be out of stock now.
The musho is a subtropical plant (so an annual for me, though it can grow as a perennial) related to tomatillos and ground cherries. I like them, so I wanted to try it. I think I've had one of the two I sowed germinate... but there's also a similar looking mystery seedling that appeared from the same potting mix batch, so I'm concerned/confused. 
For the both the balangu and musho I'm going on very little - no idea what's good for germinating, growing, planting spacing... I'm exploring!

Last week I planted seeds of sugar snap peas, carrots, four types of lettuce and transplanted brussel sprouts and broccoli.
In two weeks I will plant more lettuce seeds.

Indoor I have sweet peppers, hot peppers and heirloom tomatos along with hybrid tomato plants growing under lights until they can be planted in the garden.

Peas, lettuce, spinach, and carrots planted by seed.   Also planted 48 bare root strawberry plants today to replace my old plants (3'x4' box).  Those strawberry plants gave me 4 years of harvest.....totaling about 50 pounds of strawberries.  Not bad.