Last weekend was exceptionally warm for January. The temperature reached the upper 40’s-degree-Fahrenheit and was even in the 50’s by Tuesday. Part of me wanted to start transplanting seedlings while there’s another part of me that kept reminding me that it’s still only January and the last frost is 3 months away.

I ended up transplanting some tatsoi into a grow bag in the front yard along with a couple of kale plants, broccoli, mustard greens, and cabbages, knowing those plants will laugh in the face of freezing temperatures and that they grow best in cooler temperatures.

I didn’t transplant anything into the back garden as it’s about 10-degrees cooler back there and much of the soil is still frozen solid. I will wait for the ground to thaw. Then I’ll finish putting up the rest of the PVC hoops and start planting peas.

There is always something to do, especially when the weather is nice and warm but if it’s not, I can stay indoors and start some seeds. This is one of my seedling trays. I’ve finally gone for the standard 1020 trays. In the past, I’ve tried to use disposable aluminum trays, which failed miserably. Last year, I went with the 11-by-15 inches trays. They were still too small.

The standard 10-by-20 inches trays can hold 12 6-cell seed starting trays, and this year, with 4 tiers as opposed to 2, I can group my seedlings by germination temperature preference.

I started the asparagus this past weekend. I think 12 plants should be suffice for the 8-feet raised bed, considering asparagus does spread its seeds by wind, which means, I might get end up getting asparagus in the most random spot.

Speaking of random spots, I spent 30 minutes yesterday plucking pansies out of the ground. I planted pansies in a container last year. After it finished blooming, it blew its seeds everywhere. I love pansies and personally don’t mind having them everywhere in the spring. Unfortunately, I live with someone who would complain there are plants sticking out of her rock garden. It’s what I worry about when it comes to asparagus.

I discovered my spring bulbs are coming up already! It’s too early. Normally, my earliest spring bulbs won’t come up until around Valentine’s Day. I don’t know what will happen with this spring and summer as it seems it might come early. If spring is coming early, I’m glad I pruned all my bushes and perennial last weekend.

I’ll leave you with a first look at the ginger sprout. I bought a piece of ginger from the supermarket in the first week of January, broke it into 4 pieces, soaked it in water for 24 hours to remove any sprouting inhibitor, allowed it to dry for 24 hours before planting it seed starting mix and vermiculite. It took less time to sprout green growth than last year. I think the difference is the environment -last year, the ginger was in a drafty house, this year, it’s in a 75-degree humid greenhouse-like environment.

Ugh, I feel so accomplished for finally doing something right.