I have begun regular consultations with weather forecasts
Dear Helen: I’ve been wondering when the time is right for seeding my peas and carrots into the open garden. Opinions I’ve consulted vary widely.Almost every home gardener I meet has been asking me a similar question. I think the bizarre weather patterns of recent years have thrown us all off our usual seeding routines. Gardeners never know what is going to happen next — a heat dome? Snow and ice? Could be anything these days.
In addition to the earliest seeding possible, I also have shade cloth on hand to cover plants like leafy greens, peas, carrots and beets. In summer, bees flock to blue borage blooms, California poppies, rosemary, lavender and thyme. All these grow in and around the vegetable plots. Small-flowered, ferny-leaved signet marigolds in the “Gem” series attract hover flies, lady beetles and parasitic wasps. Lemon Gem is the most popular. The petals are edible, as are those of calendula.
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