First Planting of 2013
Yesterday was another 50 degree January afternoon — we've had several sprinkled among days of snow and days of bitter cold. It was very windy, but we had some melting, and it made me get out to sow the first seeds of 2013: These are the angelica seeds that I got last fall at Strawbery Banke . While planning out the 2013 garden (more on that later), I did some reading on growing angelica, and I found out that the seeds are short-lived and have poor germination rates, so it's best to plant them immediately in the fall. Oops. The good news is that the alternative is to keep seeds in the fridge or freezer before sowing in the spring. Since we keep all of our seeds in a box in the fridge — they last much, much longer that way! — I inadvertently did this correctly. Still, having read about their tricky germination needs (much like parsnips, which they are related to and look just like), I decided to get them in the ground yesterday, while the getting was good. ...