Spring gardening chores have started early for lots of gardeners. Some of us were probably a little too anxious with the very warm temperatures we had in late Winter, as the weather now seems more like it should be in the eastern United States for April.
The past couple of weeks we’ve had to cover the sprouts coming up in the garden to guard against freezing weather, but only two times. We covered the lettuces, peas, radishes and onions with an old sheet, a piece of muslin cloth, or black plastic sheeting or garbage bags. The covers were weighed down with rocks or boards. The next day the covers were removed at mid-morning.
Lettuce seeds were planted on the 11th, onion sets and snow pea seeds were planted on the 14th, and radish seeds were planted the 18th of March 2012. These ‘cold crops’ seem to do well in the chilly months if they’re protected from the frost.
Snow peas sprouting in a row. Photo taken 30 Mar 2012.
Snow peas will just about be finished for the season when we want to plant tomatoes, but until then we’ll be enjoying the fresh pea pods. It will probably take another 4 weeks until the snow peas are ready to eat, so we’ll just have to wait!
German chamomile plants that were grown from seed last year have survived the mild winter. Last year around the middle of May chamomile seeds were sown directly outdoors. The very small seeds were sprinkled on the soil and tamped down. Other chamomile seeds that were planted in pots indoors didn’t survive.
The seeds of chamomile, Chamomile boldegold also known as Matricaria recutita and Matricaria chamomilla, are so small that thousands of them were held inside a 1 x 2 inch plastic zip-bag that was itself inside of a labeled seed packet. Surely, the plastic bag was necessary to keep the tiny seeds from falling out of the standard seed packet or paper envelope.
Chamomile boldegold seeds.
(Click photo to see a larger image.)
The instructions indicated that germination is aided by freezing conditions, which may explain why only two plants grew from the pinches of seeds that were sprinkled in late Spring. Flowers that were allowed to drop on the ground last year should contribute to a larger crop this year. If you’re going to try to sow chamomile seeds indoors, put the seeds in the freezer overnight for more germination success.
The bright green foliage is bipinnate, where the leaflets themselves have leaflets. The segments that make up the leaflets are very narrow. Leaf stems of chamomile are round, but hollow. Our mild weather probably had something to do with the chamomile plants surviving the winter. Most sources claim this plant to be an annual, but under the right conditions chamomile is a perennial.
Chamomile leaves re-growing from last year in front of the tulips. Photo taken 30 Mar 2012.
Chamomile is a fragrant little plant. The leaves have the smell of pineapple and the flowers smell like apples. The herbal tea we make from the flowers is gently fragrant of green apples.
Flowers are like small daisies, composites with white ray flowers and yellow disc flowers in the center. The disc forms a dome in maturing chamomile blooms.
The whole plant seems to appreciate cooler weather. The scorching heat of last summer made the plants grow very slowly. These chamomile plants were still producing flowers in the cool autumn days until frost halted their activity.
Flowering chamomile in the autumn. Photo taken 11 Oct 2011.
Chamomile is native to Europe, but it’s now naturalized nearly everywhere else. In the United States it’s said to be found growing along old fence rows and in fields. We have it growing near the house because we planted it there. I haven’t seen it in the wild, yet, but I’m curious if others have? If so, leave a comment and let us all know!
