Westerly Sun Column | Spring is Just Around the Corner

Spring is coming. The ground may still be frozen, the temperatures too often in the single digits, and a certain groundhog may beg to differ, but I have to hold onto hope. In spite of the current weather conditions, one thing is true: it’s time to start thinking about your spring vegetable gardens. If nothing else, perhaps this thought will help get you through the next five weeks.

Truthfully, I’m a bit of a procrastinator, so starting vegetables from seed while there is still a foot of snow on the ground doesn’t come naturally to me. Still, it has to be done! According to the URI Cooperative Extension’s Planting Calendar for Fruits and Vegetables (a fantastic resource, by the way, which is freely available online or at the library), if you want to grow leeks, cabbage, peas, or spinach this year, it’s nearly time to get the ball rolling. Even tomatoes, which are a staple for many home gardens and which ripen relatively late in the season, should be started indoors within the next month. If you’re like me, and these things don’t come easily for you, fear not. The library has quite literally everything you need to get started.

This Saturday, from 11 a.m.-12 p.m., we’re excited to host URI Master Gardener and beekeeper Sara Michaud for an informative presentation on starting your gardens from seed. The presentation will focus largely on vegetables, but much of the information will apply to flowers as well. Bring your questions, as Sara will leave plenty of time for Q&A following her talk. While you’re here, you may as well sift through our gardening books, which contain a wealth of information to ensure your success. “Seed to Table” by Luay Ghafari and “Grow, Cook, Eat” by Willi Galloway are two great guides to vegetable gardening, which offer helpful advice and techniques on starting and sustaining your gardens.

Now that you have the know-how, you just need a few supplies. Wouldn’t you know it, the library has you covered there, too! We’re giving out free seed-starting kits to those who attend our presentation on Saturday, which include a tray of 10 biodegradable peat pots and expanding peat pellets as the growing medium. Armed with your kit, you can then stop by our Seed Library, which has been recently stocked due to a generous donation of seeds from the URI Master Gardeners Cooperative Extension. Instead of paying for a packet of seeds, which often include dozens to hundreds more seeds than you will use, visitors are encouraged to take a small amount of whatever seeds they need from our Seed Library, and leave the rest for others. In addition to a range of vegetable seeds, we also have a selection of fruits and melons, herbs, ornamental flowers, and even native plant seeds saved from our own Wilcox Park.

It’s tough out there, but the end is in sight. Get your planting calendars ready, and be sure to add the presentation this Saturday to it.

By Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian