Design

lettuce, mesclun mix, spinach, and pea seedlings A blast of cold air is expected tonight in the Southeast, both in the mountains and piedmont.  My spinach, lettuce, mustard, and chard seedlings should be fine in their beds full of dark heat-trapping soil.  mustard seedlings with overwintered mustards  The tomato, pepper, and eggplants seedlings (transported up to the mountains for spring break) were subjected to toughening temperatures of about 50°F during the day with plenty of wind.  Not optimal, but that's what was available.  They're tucked into the 'mechanical room' tonight, which is toasty because of the Rennai instant hot water system that serves both our hot water and radiant heating system.

I'm not sure if they'll make it through the deep freeze after our big snow, but I was glad to see spinach and salad mix seedlings in my large containers this afternoon. I hadn't looked at them in a couple of days because of the snow, and the fallen power pole to the house that had come down and was lying on top of my potting bench, next to these pots. But, with power turned off, and trying to get the pole and meter fixed again, I noticed an abundance of seedlings popping up, covered with small patches of unmelted snow. I'd figured my early unsheltered sowings were food for the blue jays at this point, so I was delighted to see them.