Woo hoo! It’s about that time of year again: the days get longer, the weather gets warmer, and Matt becomes a garden drill sergeant. Though most people recognize the Spring Equinox as the first day of spring, March 20 is so much more important than just the onsight of warmer weather. This is the day that the minutes of daylight almost equal the minutes of nighttime. It is the day that the sun begins to hit the earth at a more direct angle, thus producing warmer temperatures. It is the unofficial, official kick-off of farming season in the Northern Hemisphere - thus, the happiest day on Earth for the Mayerniks!
Normally in March, especially in the Northeast, we tend to give truth to the old aphorism “In like a lion and out like a lamb”. When March begins around here, there is still such a high chance of freezing temperatures and severe winter weather. Last year - remember, the winter that didn’t end? - we had snow on the ground until mid-March, and the ground remained frozen solid for far too long. It was, by far, one of our worst starts to growing season. This year, we’ve been lucky enough for a more mild winter, and the ground is just about ready to begin already. Unless Mother Nature desides to grant us just one more bit of snow, which we are experiencing later today. Luckily the ground has warmed up, so hopefully it won't stick around for long!
If you follow any type of social media, I’m sure you’ve seen the posts back in December and January of people seeing some of their flowers already blooming in their gardens. Though that’s a bit too early to expect much growth, Matt and I have already seen about 90 heads of garlic poking through our soil - nearly 20 more than we had all season last year. It is still a bit too early to begin planting new seeds (fingers crossed our peas & radishes survive this snow) and crops just yet, but the premature Spring temperatures are really getting Matt in gear to prepare our soil. We have quite a few herbs coming up also-I've seen the Yarrow and Bronze Fennel popping through the soil!
Though I am a personal fan of fall (you know, those colors, those temperatures, those cozy clothes, they get me every time!), I am more than excited to see what the warm weather will bring to our garden this year.