The middle of April is the time when we start transplanting the first seedlings. Usually, by this time the soil is warm enough for undisturbed growth. Even if there is some morning frost, it will not damage vegetables like lettuce, radish, and peas. 

This year is very different. The soil is only 4°C (39°F), which is not enough for any plant. Two weeks of unusually cold days and 4 frost mornings have lowered the temperature. The low temperature is also showing on my balcony seedlings which are much smaller than they should be.

Still, yesterday I decided to transplant my first seedlings. The radish and lettuce seedlings couldn’t wait anymore. They are still small but the roots are big enough and the leaves have started turning yellow. 

This was supposed to be Easter lettuce and radishes but they are more than a month late. It doesn’t matter we’ll still enjoy them as soon as they grow enough. 

This year I decided to change the way I transplant and sow my vegetables. Instead of big beds with one type of vegetables, I decided to plant smaller beds with just a couple of plants, but I’ll make more beds of the same vegetable and sow more times in a season to ensure longer production. Also, all my beds have labels and I write the names as soon as the seed or plant touches the soil.

The reason is simple: COVID-19.

I can honestly say that I’m having more trouble with the post covid than with the actual disease. While the 10 days that I was sick were more or less the same as flu, the post covid symptoms are really bothering me. My hands are still very shaky and they hurt, especially the left arm and fist which sometimes hurts so much that it keeps me up at night. This is a problem for me in the garden because although I’m right-handed I mostly use my left hand while I garden. I even hold the tools like a left-handed person, so I decided to make smaller beds to be able to finish the whole bed at once. I won’t have to drag the weeds around the garden or downhill while cleaning the whole bed. I can’t work for too long or my hands start to hurt really badly and I start to cough so I’ve decided to garden every single day but no longer than an hour, I think this will be enough to get everything done.

Also, the labels in the garden are the direct result of my poor memory which I’ve been having lately. I’m unable to remember where I’ve sown which vegetable. I even have to take the garden journal with me to write the location of the vegetable. Until I reach the house I completely forget what is sown where. 

With the lettuce and radishes, I’ve also planted 6 kohlrabi seedlings which have grown big enough to be transplanted. I still have a couple of seedlings which I’ll be planting later, when they get bigger, but not too many. I harvest my kohlrabi plants multiple times so 6-10 seedlings will be enough. 

I was planning to transplant the sugar peas, but I decided not to transplant them until the strong winds stop. Also, I need to get some canes first.