Today was a simply beautiful day - after a long walk (in a haze of yellow-green pollen), hours were spent transplanting, watering and getting a garden row ready for greens and beets. Let's hope for more of the same tomorrow (alas, Tuesday is forecast to be fairly horrendous, and nighttime temps in the coming days approach frost....fingers crossed that it stays well above 32!).
I've been curious as to whether things this year are that much later than previous years for tomato seedling selling and planting time. And so, the stats part of the blog. Below are first available seedling dates, which usually align with my first dates at the Farmers Market
2013 - availability of seedlings starts week of April 15, first weekend at the market April 19-20
2012 - first available April 6-7, market sales begin April 13
2011 - market sales begin April 15
2010 - availability begins April 9, market begins April 16
2009 - availability begins April 16
2008 - market sales begin April 19
2007 - no records
2006 - availability begins April 8
2005 - availability begins April 17
2004 - availability begins April 17
2003 - availability begins April 13
2002 - availability begins April 13
2001 - no records
2000 - no records
1999 - no records
So the earliest availability has been April 6 or thereabouts (2012, 2010, 2006) or a bit later, April 15-ish (2013, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002)
The plants are progressing nicely - especially the tomatoes - and my thought is this coming Thursday, April 17, will be the beginning of making appointments to come out to our house to browse the driveway - essentially the same as the majority of seasons over the past 12 years. Funny how assumptions can turn out wrong - everything is pretty much on time! The eggplant and peppers will still be small, but they are healthy! In fact, the seedlings overall look better than they did last year (no herbicide drift issues this season!).
I will be responding to emails a bit later on tonight - for those who haven't contacted me yet, send your lists and let's set up a pick up time - email to [email protected]
Let the season begin!