February 9th 2010    Tim Candler

    Today is cold and getting colder.   A little snow last night which has turned to rain.  The ground is sodden.   But I know from the diligence of notes taken last February that this time last year we were enjoying a warm spell during which I was able to dig earth and think about potatoes.

    Frustrating to dwell upon the rapid approach of a growing season.  Preparedness will never be perfect.  But this year I hope there will be fewer of those instances when a plant is consigned to "I'll just put it there."   

    Sometimes I picture myself in a greenhouse environment pottering along in an orderly manner.  Then ready to pounce when the moment is right I march out the seedlings.   Can't see window ledges as greenhouses, and have always failed to germinate the seeds of Black Beauty Eggplant because they seem to insist upon a warmer temperature than we can achieve in March or April.   And I suspect that Wax Gourds will fall into this same category of cantankerousness.  

    But yesterday in the hardware store after staring at pipe fittings for an unnatural length of time I walked past the gardening section and saw neatly stacked boxes that contained Asparagus Crowns.   I thought this a cruel and unnecessary indictment, and my reaction was to walk past them without even glancing at their happy labeling.

    Now of course I would love to know what variety of Asparagus they might have been. 

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