Still too cool out to plant seeds? Not for these hardy veggies

Q: Last Monday one of my co-workers came in absolutely giddy because she had spent part of her weekend planting peas. Isn’t it too early to be planting? — M.C., Albuquerque

A: No, your co-worker is right on time.

I know some gardeners who usually get their first crop of peas and other hardy veggies in the ground on March 1. I think it’s sort of a tradition for them. A lot like me always hanging my hummingbird feeder on April 15. It’s just what they/we do.

They have probably gotten the soil turned and perhaps dampened before the actual planting, but if you are feeling the urge, there are several hardy things you can plant now. In fact, for some, the cooler weather is a blessing to them.

So, here’s a listing of the things you can go ahead and plant from seed now: beets, carrots, parsnips, peas, radishes, spinach, most of all lettuces, Swiss chard and turnips.

Mind you, I said by seed.

You might be able to find starter plants at most nurseries already, but I will caution that if the temperatures go truly south, you just might want to be ready to tent the baby plants to protect them during the overnights.

The seed usually can sit and wait out temperature fluctuations a bit better than the young starters. With one big exception.

You can find onion sets now that are ready to plant. White, yellow and red onions are available for sure. Plant the young onion just at its color change — from the white root to green baby stalk. When you see one, you’ll understand.

So if you’re itching to get your hands dirty, yes, you can plant as long as you’ve roughed up the soil, added any well-rotted manure you’re planning to add, and dampened the area a bit to insulate the seed.

Just don’t wait too much longer to get your first crop of cool-loving crops in the ground. Your reward will come as the season progresses. Have fun!

Q: I adore poppy plants — from the happy wild annual types to the brilliant red monsters. I have tried several times to plant poppies from seed and have never gotten any to grow. Is there a secret to planting them by seed? Help! — P.P., Albuquerque

A. It took me a long time to figure out how to plant poppy seeds and actually get them to grow. For years I planted them too deep.

Poppy seeds are very small, and if buried too deep, it doesn’t have the wherewithal to make it topside. So here’s what I did the last time I planted poppy by seed and was so thrilled it worked.

First, pick the site where you want these lovelies to grow. Next, give the area a good turning, breaking up any dirt clumps and removing any rocks lurking below ground.

Once you have the area roughed up, I suggest raking it smooth. You don’t want the space to look smooth like fresh-poured concrete — leveled and tidy is the aim. Then, dampen the area with the gentlest spraying of water so the area stays in place.

Now here’s how I spread my seed.

I get a used margarine tub and put four or five tablespoons of clean sand in it. Next, I add the poppy seed and give them a good stir. If you still have the tub’s lid, you can agitate it with ease and not lose anything.

Next sprinkle the poppy seed/sand mixture on the dampened soil. Carefully, yet firmly, using the back of a hoe head or even gently stepping on the area, you’ll want to push the sand/seed mixture into the soil. Voilà! You’ve planted poppies!

Keep the area just damp enough, and they hunker down and germinate for you. Once I realized that poppies, for the most part, are wind propagated and that I had to stop planting the seed so deep, I figured it out.

When a flower has matured and is ready, a wind comes along, dislodging the seed. These tiny seeds are thrown hither and yon. They run into a bump in the garden (that’s why you want the soil roughed up), a stone catches it or whatever, and it’ll sit still. Some sand or soil gets blown on top of them, and poof, they have been planted.

So see, they aren’t planted very deep at all ever. Mother Nature doesn’t bury them, so you shouldn’t either. In fact, you can use the sand mixture method to plant a whole host of other tiny seeds in your gardens.

I hope this thought helps your next poppy seed planting experience be fruitful.

Happy Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Diggin’ In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.