Editorial: The garden is still covered with snow
Steve Cirenza digs out at his East Drive home in Garden City on Friday, Feb. 14, 2014. Credit: Howard Schnapp
You have to admire winter's tenacity. It has us in its grip and just refuses to let go. The forecast calls for some snow to start the week and temperatures way below freezing through the end of the week. Recent days when the mercury got into the 50s seem like a cruel tease now.
Among the anxious are Long Island's legion of home gardeners, many of whom typically start early crops like snap peas, lettuce, arugula, spinach and Swiss chard as soon as next week. Of course, it doesn't have to be warm to plant, but the ground can't be frozen solid, either. And you need time to properly prepare planting beds. Right now, you'd need a pickax.
The way winter is going, we might have to wait until the end of March. Or it could be 70 degrees on St. Patrick's Day. Would anyone be surprised?
