2020 Planting Record: February 11

The first round of lettuce has sprouted in the raised bed, but the Lincoln green peas have not yet shown any signs of germination, so I ventured out this morning while it wasn't raining to get a few more cool crop seeds started.

Seeds planted on Tuesday, February 11, 2020:

Salad Bowl Lettuce (Burpee)
Little Gem Lettuce (Baker Creek)
Garden Sweet Green Peas (Burpee)
Parisienne Carrots (Baker Creek)
Little Finger Carrots (Baker Creek)

Except for the Little Gem Lettuce, all of these are seeds left over from last year, so I expect slightly lower germination rates. So far all three of my lettuce varieties are sprouting nicely, and I'd like to have at least a second round of lettuce before it gets too hot.

Last year the Garden Sweet Green Peas were a bit hit and grew readily, and I'm feeling impatient about the Lincoln peas not sprouting yet. We'll see if this new round of Garden Sweet takes off!

Garden Sweet Peas from 2019

I have yet to have any luck at all with carrots, but since I have the seeds I am giving them one more go. It's a bit early to sow them, but my garden is very sheltered with its narrow space and high privacy fence, and I've got more of the seeds in a large pot that can be moved if some truly terrible weather heads our way. I would really like to grow a few decent carrots!

The problem with cool weather crops here in North Alabama is that our winters are wildly variable and spring gets very warm very quickly. We can have 60-70 degree days throughout the winter and then rocket up to 90 degrees early in the spring and stay there through October. I often wonder if our planting schedules and general advice really take the effects of climate change into account. I'm experimenting with the carrot seeds to see if I have any better luck with them by planting them in weather that feels more like a typical old-fashioned spring than our actual spring feels like these days.