sage

Sage is a pretty tricky herb.  I think Clary sage is the variety that I usually grow.  I've tried bicolor sage before and it never makes it past midsummer.  I tried golden sage and it shared the miserable fate of the tricolor.  Silver sage was nice for a season.  It had a very distinctive foliage but I didn't have anything to do with it except for letting it look cool in the garden.  I need to harvest the sage at the end of the fall.  Cut the stalks down and harvest the dried leaves.  This spring there is a nice crop of new growth coming from the bottom of the plants.

Early spring '13

Check out this mid-January weekend forecast:

Weekend Forecast

Updated: Jan 12, 2013, 6:13pm EST

FriJan 11

Light Rain / Fog Actual high of 54^°F and low of 48^°F. The estimated precip measured 0.01 in.

TonightJan 12

72^°FObserved High3:25 pm

55^°F

Mostly Cloudy

CHANCE OF RAIN:

20%

 

WIND:

SSW at 6 mph

SunJan 13

72^°

59^°

Cloudy

CHANCE OF RAIN:

20%

 

WIND:

SSW at 13 mph

So I figured it was a great time to get some seeds in the ground.  70's in January.  You know I was going to have to be outside doing something in the garden.  Might as well take a gamble on a spring planting.
Problems-  by later in the week it was in the 20's again.  It was pretty chilly all of the rest of January and February.  We got a few inches of snow in mid-February and it rained a ton these last few months. It's been excruciating waiting to see some little seedlings.  I think that I have been used to seeing some sprouts a couple of weeks after the early winter planting.  I replanted a couple of rows with some spinach in mid-february because I got impatient with my mid-January experiment.  Today I got my first bite of the spring garden with of course.... radish.  By far the easiest plant in the world to grow.
There are some lettuce seedlings in the middle of the pit that need thinning out, but the main garden is pretty disappointing.  I left a bunch of collards in the left side of the garden and I missed out on some nice real estate for spring planting.  I did pick some collards last week for a little side dish with dinner.  A small concession for missing out on bunches of beets and spinach.