Cool weather crops

It's finally time to get planting! The ground is good and soft, the weather is getting warmer and it's time to get some seeds in the ground.

There are many types of vegetables that thrive in the cool, spring weather and can tolerate a frost. Some of the cool weather crops that I planted last week are:

• radishes
• arugula
• lettuce
• spinach
• potatoes
• peas

This is first time that I'll be growing peas and potatoes. I decided to go with the Asian snap peas; you can eat them raw or cooked, and you don't have to shell them like traditional peas. I just couldn't see myself spending the time to shell the regular peas. As for the potatoes, I bought the "special" potatoes at Agway where I bought my seeds this year. The guy at the store told me that they do differ from the potatoes you buy at the grocery store, but I'm not sure I'm buying that. I'm going to try and plant some regular potatoes from the store and see what happens. Either way, the method is the same: Quarter the potatoes and make sure they are buried under a good mound of soil. Each quarter should yield one potato. For the most part, because of my very rocky soil, root vegetables that take a long time to grow don't do very well in my garden, so we shall see...

Radishes are also a root veggie, but they grow very quickly. If you're turning up your nose at the thought of radishes, you really should give them a try. They add a nice crunch when sliced thin and tossed in your salad and are a really tasty addition to a stir-fry.

Remember when you're planting to pace yourself. You don't want to plant 10 rows of radishes or 8 rows of lettuce -- at least not all at once. The key to a vegetable garden is spreading out your crop so that you are not inundated with one type of veggie. For example, I planted two rows of peas last week, four potatoes and one row of everything else. Next week, I will repeat that and plant the same thing again. By the time the first batch is ready for harvest, it will be time to plant the warmer weather veggies, like cucs and squash.

The joys of composting

Ok, composting is not really that joyful, but it can become an intregral part of your garden. It provides vital nutrients to your soil, plus it cuts down on your household waste.

I have several composting piles scattered throughout my garden, but I have a pretty big space, so you might only need one or two piles. I also have a spinning composting bin, but there's really no need to go out and get one. I find the piles are the most efficient, because composting requires three things: air, water and time.

So what can you compost? Well, basically anything that comes from the earth, can go back to the earth - it really is the circle of life! This includes your paper products, like your junk mail, paper towels, and napkins. But beware-I learned the hard way not to just throw all my junk mail into the compost. I'm still picking those pesky plastic envelope windows out of my garden. And I'm always amazed on how long those things stick around, because guess what? Plastic does not break down! It's an eye-opening lesson on plastic and how we really need to do our part to reduce our use of plastic. But I digress...

Food products like coffee grinds and egg shells are wonderful composting ingredients. You can also add a layer of grass clippings or leaves to your compost pile periodically. And of course, any of your garden clippings or old plants. That's how I wound up with so many compost piles now - As I was cleaning up at the end of last season, I put those old plants into my compost.

But what should NOT be composted? Meats and oils are a big no-no. That's what will attract the animals to your compost.

So what's the best method? I have found that small layers work best. I would start with a layer of paper products (minus any plastic!) and then place food products on top, adding any grass clippings or leaves. Then cover it lightly with a bit of soil from your garden. I like to keep a plastic container with a lid on the kitchen counter for any kitchen waste so that I can add it to the compost piles whenever it gets full and I tend to cover it with a little soil each time. AS it begins to break down, you can start to pull the rich compost material from the bottom.

Remember, just like when you're growing, the most important thing you need is time and patience when composting.