ground hog day.. six more weeks?

[JoB]

Putswany Phil did see his shadow today in Pennsylvania… but i talked to my daughter in West Virginia today and it is snowing there…

so what does our local groundhog equivalent say?

Was the sun out for it’s two minutes of fame?

and does it matter?

the ground is nearly workable.

can i put seeds in yet?

is it time to put seed trays in the plastic greenhouse?

i am so itching for spring.. i have cilantro and spinach and peas and parsley and… all waiting to be nestled into some soil..

and the chives are up.

can i move the strawberries into their permanent bed yet?

please. please. please.

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[herongrrrl]

Before Groundhog Day, there was a saying about Candlemas (Feb 1 or 2 depending on who you ask):

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,

winter will have another flight;

If Candlemas Day brings clouds and rain,

Winter is gone and will not come again.

My sweetie is a bit of a weather guru, and he says that if you have a stationary high pressure system over you at this time of year (ie, “fair and bright”), then yeah, it’s a safe assumption that the cold weather isn’t over yet. But if you don’t (ie, clouds and rain), then spring-like weather is on its way. He says the overall forecast for this week fits more with the “clouds and rain” scenario.

All the seeds you’ve named that you want to plant now you can probably get away with. The say to plant your peas by President’s Day here, anyway! Don’t know about the strawberries…but I’m starting my warm-weather seeds indoors this week so the seedlings will be good sized for transplanting in April and May…and the potatoes go in the ground at the end of March…can you tell I’m itching for spring too? :)

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[sam-c]

the weather report I heard on the radio this morning said we’d have a little bit of everything today. so what does that mean ?

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[JoB]

herongirl..

my grubby little paws are itching to grub in the dirt:)

or soil.. if we have pretensions:)

and yes.. i will ammend.

has anyone grown spinach in planters? i had great luck with lettuce in planters that got only morning sun last year.

i was thinking of doing the same with the spinach…

i think i gave my cilantro too much love:(

i am seeding it where i can neglect it this year.

i am so ready for spring..

and more excited about veggies than flowers this year.

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[charlabob]

When I lived in places that really had winters, :-) I never could figure out if six weeks was the bad news or the good news. Anytime we *only* had six more weeks of winter, from February 2, it was an early spring. But I had the feeling people actually expected to have less.

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[Sue]

Joanne, two summers ago I planted baby spinach (from seed) in a pot out on our deck and got a wonderful crop. Last year I did the same (one pot from seed and another from a starter) and it was just dreadful – too many hot spells that bolted the spinach, and after the third attempt I just gave up. So, I’ve had mixed results. We’ll see what happens this year.

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[JoB]

Sue..

i think the lettuce did well most of the summer because i planted it where it got no sun at all after about 10 AM… so it didn’t get hot enough to bolt badly… i put the parsley in the same corner and it was a very happy camper…

i didn’t get huge heads … but we sure got plenty of lettuce… and more parsley than we could use.

i think spinach needs a little more sun than that.. so maybe someplace that gets no direct afternoon sun?

weather is so hard to predict.

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[miws]

JoB, this morning, on M.J. McDermott’s weathercasts, on Q13, she had a future weather prognosticator as her special guest.

He is a stuffed Mountain Beaver, borrowed from the Environmental Learning Center at Carkeek Park.

She had a name for him, which I don’t recall, but they put him outside after sunrise, and apparantly he, (well, not really he I suppose, considering his present condition, ;-) ) but apparently the observers barely saw his shadow, so yep, six more weeks of Winter around here too. :-(

At the time of this posting, their Weather Blog has not been updated since before sunrise, so doesn’t reflect the results at this time.

Mike

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[JoB]

miws…

i think the animal is supposed to see it’s own shadow…

and does barely count?

i am buying spring around the corner

it’s my fantasy

i get to choose :)

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[miws]

Yeah, I think technically the animal is supposed to see his own shadow, and “barely” doesn’t quite cut it for me! ;-)

Mike

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[ToddinWestwood]

Your Groundhog god has spoken. You must OBEY!

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[JoB]

ToddinWestowwod…

you knew i was going to start getting my hands dirty this week.. groundhog or no groundhog:)

if the soil is workable.. i will put what i can in the ground…

if not.. planters will do

and starts in the kitchen window

and cleaning out the plastic greenhouse so i have someplace to move them

and….

has anyone tried growing garbanzo beans here?

bought some fresh the other day and i may have a new favorite…

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[saney]

can someone recommend a website that helps a beginner? i want to try to grow some vegetables in a little garden (would have to be in planter pots/boxes because i live in an apartment). but i have no idea what/when to plant.

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[JoB]

Saney..

the shibaguyz who used to post here are really into gardening in small spaces…

the gardening info doesn’t take over their website right now.. but if you click on “jungle” then on “challenges” you will find find archives for two years that will tell you more about food gardening in small spaces than you can easily digest..

http://shibaguyz.com/about/the-shibaboyz/

you might also look at “earthbox” and follow the link in the comments section to a much cheaper alternative…

I have used a pot in a water basin for my basil and it works really well.. this year i may invest in some earthbox for my deck… watering twice a day didn’t work for me last year.

i am a lazy gardner :(

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[herongrrrl]

Saney–Seattle Library system has a lot of really helpful books, too:

Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

Fresh Food from Small Spaces by R J Ruppenthal

The Maritime Northwest Garden Guide by Seattle Tilth (this tells you when to plant what)

Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon

I haven’t read Fresh Food from Small Spaces but I own the other three and they are my go-to guides for any questions I have about what to plant and how to grow it.

Here are some nice WS based resources:

http://www.urbanlandarmy.com/ and http://gleanit.org/

Good luck!

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[ToddinWestwood]

Groundhog said 6 more weeks of winter. Put away your tools.

It is a very hokey tradition in my eyes.

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[luckymom30]

But we can’t complain very loudly here in the great Pacific Northwest! Very mild winter so far!

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[JoB]

earthbox kits.. with everything you need to start your earthbox except soil and plants is at McClendon’s (i was in Kent) for $39….

i think i am going to get a couple for the deck.

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