Spring in my condo

Massachusetts, along with most of the rest of the country, has been suffering a harsh winter. Weekly or twice weekly snows, followed by cold and ice, and melting snow that freezes to ice. Two-lane roads are now one, and drivers are playing vicious games of chicken on the road. "Why should I yield?" seems a common theme. I'm itching for spring, so I decided to start it in my condo.

My boyfriend bought me a grow light for my birthday, a fairly basic one with a fluorescent bulb from Johnny's Selected Seeds. Even though most of what I'm planting shouldn't be started until March, I decided to start up my leeks, which take forever, and lettuce for winter greens.

Last year I grew everything on the windowsill, to mixed results. I bought the apartment with no appreciation for a south-facing window, and my only windows face North. But even then, my organic farming teacher once said that there's such a thing as "South Window Syndrome." The plants tend to be very spindly in any window, and he suggested a greenhouse or a grow light. It's nice because the plants are, at the very least, growing straight up. They are still very tender, and I'm beginning to understand the need for hardening. I'll have to put in some sort of cold frame this summer.

But ain't it grand to see a bit of green?

Leeks:



Lettuce:


I note that we haven't had a significant snowfall up here since the groundhog failed to see its shadow. Happy melting.