I've started peas in cell paks as I always do to get a jump on the season. We like Super Sugar Snap peas the best. You don't have to shell them, which gives you much more good tasting crunch and saves a lot of time. Super Sugars are earlier than the regular Sugar Snap peas, not quite as tall so they don't get blown off the fence as easily in a wind storm, bigger and less prone to mildew. Supposedly they're not as sweet at the old time Sugar Snaps, but I think they're every bit as good. We start two rounds of them about 10 days apart for a longer season. They don't freeze very well, so we just eat them fresh and raw, straight from the garden, or very lightly steamed (just enough to warm them through).
Other garden news: broccoli and cabbage are planted, to be transplanted into cups as soon as the first true leaves unfurl. They'll go out into the garden around the first of April, depending on the weather. Lettuce, kale, arugula and mustard are up, also parsely, cutting celery and chives. Snapdragons, feverfew and some dianthus are also up and growing. Snapdragons and feverfew are super hardy and can tolerate a good bit of freezing weather.
Bluebirds are warbling, the yard is full of robins, the geese are flying over in big flocks, and I heard the first redwing blackbird. Now I'm just waiting for some warmer weather to get going on a million outside projects!
