First Bed is Ready

Winter Rye,
Needing to be dug into the soil

So I couldn't take it any more. The rain paused for an hour or two, so I jumped up and prepared the first bed for planting. I dug in the winter rye and added a wheelbarrow full of fresh compost. 

Compost & rye is all dug in
and raked out. Ready for seed.

Fortunately, this is the bed for sugar snap peas, the earliest thing to go into the ground. I'm hoping they appreciate the good soil.

Digging in the
Winter Rye

Note that we don't plan on harvesting the sugar snaps. We invite family and friends, guests at our barbecues and such, to come graze on the peas while we're visiting before dinner. Maybe I should add some drink holders to the trellis?

I'm trying something new for peas this year: I'm starting peas indoors first. Next rain break, I'll plant pea seeds in the clean soil. 

When the starts get big enough, I'll put them out in the next row over. Then we'll get to compare: which method did better? 

I'm not sure starts make sense: you can plant so early outside. I did it this year because I wanted to plant something, darn it, and it was still freezing outside. But I've seen pea starts in the Farmers' Market, so maybe it can turn out to be useful. 

(The usual rule of thumb: have the peas in the ground by Saint Patrick's Day.)

(Comment: I feel a little strange, watching the reports of so much of the country buried in snow, while I'm digging in the garden, getting ready to plant the first seeds!)