I think we’ve all heard this saying and we readily concur that tomatoes don‘t grow in the winter and lettuce fails in the summer. However, this spring I have been impressed with the intricate timing of even spring planting. Novice that I am, I planted all of my seedlings in February and then put all of my plants in the ground by the end of March…because that’s what my book said to do. Many of my plants, strawberries, tomatoes, etc took off growing right away. However, I had a few seedlings that I didn’t think were going to make it. (they looked like the okra-the tiny one on the left, front row). I’m always one to give a plant a second chance to so I continued to fertilize and water in the hop
es that I might hit on something that would help the little seedlings have a shot. It turns out I just needed a little patience.
Apparently okra prefers to be started in May, as does watermelon. These little seedlings worked on their roots and hung on until it was their “time” this Spring. I have been amazed as this scrawny little okra plant and this withered watermelon seedling have sprung to life (watermelon above). They weathered the heavy spring rain and the harsh wind and now they’re doing great. All they needed was a bit more sunshine.