When I was a kid, some gatherings would often lead to a game or a race. Sometimes the signal to start was Ready? Set? Go! Gardeners are in the ready phase during the winter. Are you getting ready? I think we are lucky in Minnesota to have these winters for an off season. It’s a good chance to read a book or research on the internet about a plant you are thinking of adding in the yard, or answering a particularly vexing garden problem of the previous summer. 

I’ve just finished ordering seeds for my vegetable garden and container annuals. Now is the time to take a look at what you want to do in your garden this year. We have two excellent nurseries in the West End for seeds and plants, but mail order can be an easy way to fill your needs for exactly what you have in mind.

One of our favorite vegetables to grow from seed is leeks. In the onion (allium) family, leeks are large and slow to mature since they require over 100 days from a started plant for most varieties. Ordering seed will allow you to start the seed indoors in February and set out plants “as soon as the soil can be worked.” This is a phrase you will see over and over on seed packets. Here in Minnesota this means March or April. Each year is different and your garden will be different from your neighbor’s if your drainage is different. The timing can also change if you prep the beds some in the fall rather than spring or if you have raised beds. In any case, it is when the soil is thawed and reaches a state other than a muddy ball if you were to form soil in your hands. It can be very cold, but should be crumbly in texture. Leeks, kole crops such as broccoli and cabbage, and lettuce, can all be planted or seeded as soon as the soil can be worked. They are resistant to frost; even short periods of hard freeze are okay. The biggest mistake most inexperienced gardeners make is to wait for spring fever in May for planting the vegetable garden.

I love to grow a mixture of plants in containers. This includes annuals, bulbs that are hardy or tender, grasses, vegetables and even perennials. Often perennials can grow in your containers as an experiment and then be transplanted into your perennial border in the fall. Pepper plants have wonderful foliage and when the fruit comes along in that container by your back door, picking a tasty salad pepper is a real treat.

An annual plant I have been growing for containers recently is Salpiglossis sinuate. It has the common name Painted Tongue or Velvet Flower with exotic rich colors from pink and orange to blue. It loves sun and heat but does not look good as a specimen plant [a plant grown for exhibition or in the open to display its full development], so grow it in a pot with other plants. It is about 18-24 inches tall and will sprawl, even hang beautifully. You will have to order seeds for this plant and get them started in March indoors under lights.

Whether you are relaxing on the couch, stretching those gardening muscles or exercising your muscular brain to get ready in this winter season, I hope you will be set this spring so you can enjoy the go part this summer.