Hmmmm. Good Friday...... A nice gentle rain today--warm and steady: everyone planted a lot of their seeds yesterday in the (dry, warm) afternoon, and even dared a few hot pepper and tomato plantlets. We were told that PR was going to have one of their photographers make an appearence for this fine planting day--but we never saw him/her. Thats ok this time though, since we had a skilled envi photographer in our midst too, just in case. These things will tend to happen occasionally.

Still, No photos from me personally today--perhaps some will get posted though--hint, hint.

In my neck of the woods (Pennsylvania), the old-timers always said that we needed to get our peas planted in by Good Friday--those plus onion sets, and some radishes were always the first in the ground. Down here south in Salem, the season always seems a little earlier--according to my family up north, they still have snow in the north hollows right now...

Then everyone went their separate ways for Easter Weekend. I wandered up to the garden this morning to check things out. Erics okra plants looked a little chilly, i admit--but the tomato plants are all looking very chipper, and the few chili de arbols and cayennes have bounced back with the warm rain. Mike's already appears to have a full crop of peppers ready for the picking......

If it gets cold, i will try to go up and cover things.

First pea plants and onions are up--Colin's radishes will need to be thinned sooner rather than later. And we have a new addition: at least three brave gardeners must have planted beets a week or so back--thye have now begun to make an appearence.

Meanwhile, Charles and Daniel did yomans (2 yomens?) work in getting the chicken-wire fences around the EC apple trees. It is worth reporting (most happily) that the other four or five missing stakes are also now in the ground, and the wire-cages all attached, and so ALL of the little trees are caged, and wont run away... (photos to follow when there is better light)

Loud lauds to several of the gang, and particularly to Mike and Stephen for doing a lot of the loading of materials into the truck to carry over to EC--and to Colin for helping with filling the water bins.

And to the lot of you for helping sort out an'Alta Mons set of seeds from the seedbank holdings...

A quick additional note specifically to Michele Duck, who has been following our blog from Britain: We continue to much appreciate your input. Happy Easter! Letsee, I agree, I just dont think you can really grow okra there--at least not unless you start it inside, like at....... say, Christmas time! Its a North African kinda thing--and it Really likes long seasons and Extremely hot days. I think we mostly only have it here in Virginia because Thomas Jefferson made pretty extensive trials of it at Monticello as "quite the exotic." ........Speaking of our various heirloom exotics in the seed line--presumably if you talk with the kids some, maybe we can do some seed exchange--i bet we are holding at least a few things that might do well with you.......