You can beat the cold weather, and supply chain shortages, by starting your vegetable garden with seeds inside.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- My favorite season in Northeast Ohio is all four of them. That said, the cold, muddy weeks between Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day can be a dreary time that is only worsened by the longer days. So far this year, the sunny and warm first weekend of March had us filling playgrounds, sidewalks, and restaurant patios, our happy chatter mixing with that of the equally overjoyed birds. Last weekend saw a fresh layer of snow covering the dirty piles of ice that dot the corners of parking lots and driveways, reminding us that spring, if it comes at all, is not here yet.

The melting snow also revealed all the garden chores I didn’t get done last fall -- unraked leaves, dead flowers, and overgrown bushes. But there’s a method to my laziness, because while yo-yoing temperatures make us humans moody and restless, the plants and insects are wisely ignoring the day-to-day changes and waiting until spring arrives for good. My mess has been harboring butterflies, crickets, and their eggs over the winter, and they won’t be ready to leave home until the temperature is above 50 degrees for a week or so. (If we’re lucky, that will be sometime in May.) So as tempting as it is to celebrate a warm sunny day by rushing outside with pruners and a rake, I’m resisting the urge to tidy up.

Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 5/1/2021).

© 2022 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.

Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.