Garbanzo beans germinate! (And other news from the spring garden)

I am so relieved. So far SIX of the garbanzo beans I sowed in the ground have germinated. That’s not a great count considering I probably sowed 50 but I’m still pleased because more might very well be on their way.

Here they are, doused in Sluggo because last night was their very first night without floating row cover, and I was so scared that the slugs would devour them. Sluggo was a quick fix as I ran out the door last night, but there are heaps of less-expensive and less-manufactured solutions.

We were incredibly lucky to be able to harvest all of our winter crops at the same time. It’ll be a bit more of a challenge with these crops, but I think we’ll be able to pull it off with one major exception – the garbanzo beans. While they need cool soil to germinate, they also need a very long, warm growing season of around 120 days. We’ll have to wait for summer to enjoy them.

The fava beans are almost ready (as they were originally planted last fall as cover crop). Some of the radishes are also ready (so speedy!). I can sow another succession of radishes before the weather gets too warm, but we’ve still got a ways to go on the other crops.

In order to eat everything as one big feast, we will likely be having baby beets, carrots, and scallions. But that’s ok, we’ll just say they’re gourmet.