It’s February, folks (in case you haven’t noticed). According to the weather widget, right now at 2:36pm it is 81F degrees (or do I say 81 degrees F or do I just say 81F?) and that translates into 27C degrees (or 27 degrees C or 27C) and breezy. Windows open, all of them. Curtains flapping a little and dogs yapping at every single thing they hear, not being used to hearing much because the windows are generally closed this time of year. Also usually closed in the Summer due to heat.
Nice, right? Yes indeed. This is why I love living in the South. Winter is a couple of weeks in January when I am required to wear maybe a sweater, possibly a couple of shirts and a pair of socks. The rest of the time flipflops and a polo shirt do nicely. This is what makes the Summers, with the 95-100F temps and 95-100% humidity, worth enduring. This is why all my life I wanted a convertible, and why Terry with his inability to deny me anything I want, got me one. We needed another car anyway, so why not?
The weather causes the garden to beckon. My seed order from Pinetree Garden Seeds arrived a couple of days ago and I’m-a itching to get planting, but first need to make sure there won’t be any arctic blasts to do in tender snow peas and salad greens. The cold frame is assembled and ready to plant stuff under. Terry has made noises about getting stuff to put together a small greenhousy type thing on the patio, so I can start tomatoes, peppers and such-like. Oh yes, I am excited about gardening!
We’re supposed to get rain and a little cooler the next several days, which means I should be planting snow peas right now instead of writing about planting snow peas. The seeds are an experiment this year. I bought only heirloom varieties, those old plants that are pre-hybrid. I want to see how they grow. The snow peas are a variety from India with big purple flowers and gold colored pods. Never tired those before, and I like purple flowers. Also, the theory is that being from India, they might do well in this climate. I’m planting poona kheera cucumbers, also Indian, and quite different from the “normal” green cukes we’re used to here in the USof A. I’m growing other stuff, too…Crosby beets (I LOVE a green smoothie made with beet tops and pineapple!), garlic chives, salad burnett, and tall telephone peas. I haven’t decided on tomatoes yet, but I am pretty sure I’ll want Brandywines, because they are delicious and meaty and make great sandwiches, and Sweet 100’s, because I can eat them like candy, and some sort of paste-making thing like a roma variety.
You know, there is no optimist like a gardener in the early Spring.
Because it really is personal... 
Our weather here in Indiana has been so mild this year, which makes me think we’ll have extreme heat this summer.
But mild here is 40 degrees which probably sounds downright frigid to you 🙂
Indeed! 40 degrees is time to put on extra layers, a fire in the fireplace, and make chili…and complain about the cold.
Early spring??!!??!? It’s only Feb. 24!! Here in Ontario we’re having a mild winter too, but winter is still winter! That means furnace on, boots, coats, and a high of 3 degrees Celsius if we’re lucky. There’ll be no thinking about gardening for a good 6 weeks yet.
Yes ma’am, Spring starts here at the end of January. I should be planting peas and salad greens right now. Everything else gets planted at Easter. At this moment it is 81 degrees or 27C. (2:30pm)