Farm News: February
Planting With a Little Luck
Greetings from Farm Kitchen. This is Phil, the facilities manager at Farm Kitchen. It’s cold outside, way too cold to grow most plants outside, but thankfully we have a greenhouse. Often, the way we decide when to plant a particular crop is based on the amount of time before the final frost of the season. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, 2023’s last spring frost in western Washington is March 21st. Side note: more specific would be April 7th for Kitsap County, and other sources put Poulsbo’s final frost date closer to April 30th. This date tells us about when we should be seeding our plant babies inside, so they can grow in the warm greenhouse for a while before it’s time to transplant them into the fields. Onions, for example, should be planted six to eight weeks before the last frost, so we have seeded them in trays with high quality organic potting soil in early February. Cucumbers only get seeded three weeks before the last frost, so we have more time before starting those.
All of our flowers, fruits and vegetables keep to a rough schedule based on that final frost date, but the Farmer’s Almanac also has some other funkier ideas about planting. These planting tips, from the 2023 Old Farmer’s Almanac (Almanac.com) have been passed down by generations of farmers:
Plant peas on Valentine’s Day. Lettuce, too.
Don’t plant on March 1st through 3rd.
Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, is another great time for planting peas. Also a good day for beans, flax and potatoes. (The Devil holds no power on this day.)
If we plant peas, potatoes, and cabbage on St. Patrick’s day, the saint himself will bless our garden. (Lots of good days for planting peas. Good thing we have plenty of seeds.)
March 21st is St. Benedict’s Feast Day, and onion sets planted this day will produce massive yields.
May 1st is when to plant cucumbers and watermelons, but make sure it’s before sunrise. Wear pajamas while planting and the seedlings will be insect-free.
Plant lavender on June 29th.
Swear and curse at basil while you plant it.
Part of growing good corn is shaking the stalks so their pollen falls from the top of the plant to the silks below. Improve the chances of good pollination by saying the following rhyme while you do it: “One for the mouse, one for the crow, one to rot and one to grow.”
You must be angry while planting peppers.
Don’t plant potatoes with onions, or the potatoes will cry their eyes out.
Do these tips work? Who are we to argue against tradition? Check back here in late spring and summer and I’ll let you know.