According to popular and measured opinion, this was one of the longest winters in recent Swiss history. Spring officially begins on March 21 but we had about two inches of snow in mid April. We started our seedlings inside the house fearing a frost would kill them. Days are getting warmer but we still have cool weather. The highs and the lows spread over a wide spectrum. Tomorrow the low is 7º and the high is 21º (45º -70ºF) Nevertheless we have been busy working in the garden. It looks beautiful. Many of the flowers planted last year are out in full bloom. So far we have planted 3 types of peas, 4 types of beans, carrots, fennel, onions, various kinds of lettuce, cornichons, peppers, celery, apricot, strawberries and raspberries (last year), pumpkin, scallions, and sunflowers.

Many of our seeds come from a seed exchange activity we attended in early April, in a small farming town, about an hour away from our house. Longo Mai, a network of agricultural co-operatives with an anti-capitalist and anti-corporate ideological focus founded in 1973 had set up a free seed exchange kiosk. We selected 31 different types of seeds that include flowers, herbs, fruits (many varieties of tomatoes) and vegetables. All of them free! Here are some pictures from our garden taken a few days ago.

 

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