Crocuses tiny, colorful harbingers of spring

There's this one spot toward the rear of the house that I can always count on for the first crocus to bloom. The area I'm referring to is where the dryer vent exhausts outside, providing just enough extra warmth to the ground to spark life into cheerful crocuses. They might be covered in a bit of lint, but here they are, just as they have been around this time of month for the last several years.

If you want to look for a measure of longevity, sustenance and true ruggedness in a bulb, then look no further than the crocus. We all know and love them and who, upon seeing the first crocus in bloom, doesn't become elated? No other species epitomizes the ending of winter and nearing of spring in quite the same way.

Plant them in the fall once and you're set for a lifetime of repeated and reliable spring blooming. Crocuses come in a wide variety of wineglassshaped flowers in a fashionable array of colors and sizes. Also, they increase readily when given desirable growing conditions. Fussy they are not, but crocuses seem to prefer slightly alkaline soils. Perhaps that is why they perform so well when naturalized in lawns which tend to have high pH levels.

There are basically two types of spring crocus, and knowing the differences can help diversify the color scheme and lengthen the flowering periods. C. chrysanthus is a species most notable for its unusual coloration and early blooming characteristics.

There are also many hybrid species in the C. vernus species, which

are typically late spring bloomers. Knowing this, it's possible to have quite a variation of colors and flower types, and to extend all of this late into the spring.

If you neglected to plant crocuses last fall, you still have a second chance. Thankfully, crocuses are not limited to spring. There are species (C. sativus and C. specious), which put on a spectacular early to late fall showing of flowers. The bulbs are sold during late summer and should be planted immediately. I can appreciate a single crocus bloom as much as I would several thousand of them, but the real show- stopping effect is with the latter. Crocuses should be planted by the hundreds, if not thousands. Whether planted in rock g ardens, perennial beds, among shrubbery, or in my favorite setting, naturalized in a lawn, crocuses are sure to ignite spring passion on an especially early note!

START BROCCOLI NOW

I typically wait until the 15th of the month before starting my broccoli crop, but I'm counting on above- nor mal temperatures clearing the way for an extra early spring planting.

I know there are many who join in my appreciation of garden- fresh broccoli, not only for its outstanding color and flavor when cooked, but because it remains a very generous crop. Even after the main head of broccoli has been harvested, the stocky plants continue to produce reams of tasty side shoots well into early summer.

It is also a crop that I'd rate as easy to g row, but it does demand certain conditions. T he real trick for tight- headed broccoli is to have it mature during cool weather.

That means getting the seedlings into the g round as soon as spring weather permits and to keep it growing fast.

Assuming that the above- normal temperatures we have been experiencing are going to continue, I'm going to gamble and start the seeds now.

T he extra week or two indoors will give me transplant- size seedlings ready for the open g arden in early April.

When I find something good, I stick with it, and such is the case with the variety Green Goliath. I'm not that closeminded to ignore some of the other new hybrid types that appear in the seed catalogs each year, but I've yet to be disappointed with this variety so I see no need to change.

A four- inch pot is filled to within a halfinch to the top of the pot with a sterile seed starting mixture. I'll sow about 25 seeds, from which I'll later select the 12 healthiest- looking seedlings.

Just like tomatoes, broccoli has the ability to grow roots all along its stem. As the plants get moved into individual cellpacks and finally into the garden, they' ll be planted deeper, right up to their first set of leaves. This planting technique really develops extensive roots and helps stabilize the bulky plants from toppling over in windy weather.

Weather per mitting, they'll be moved into the open garden in four to five weeks from now. However, if cold weather comes in, the coldframe will provide a perfect environment to hold the plants until a window of favorable weather opens up.

PARSLEY SOWING

Parsley is right up there with basil in terms of garden herb popularity. It certainly is a fairly easy crop to grow and one of the most prolific. It is, in f act, a biennial, but is g rown as an annual. I start my parsley plants indoors in early March.

The seeds are slow to germinate and it can take up to three or four weeks for them to germinate. To help speed the process along, I soak the seeds in lukewarm water to soften them up before planting.

This is a common technique used for many hard- coated seeds and truly works to speed germination. After this soaking, I fill four- inch peat pots with a good seedstarting soil mixture and sow four to five seeds in each pot. I use the peat pots, since parley does not transplant all that well.

Come early May I'll simply set the whole peat pot into the soil and by June I'll be harvesting parsley right through November.

FROM THE MAILBOX

Q: Every year I save my seeds from the garden and start them in January. My question is about carrots - where do I find the seed from the plants? - R. Marktan, Stratford

A: Unlike many vegetable crops where there are visible seeds to save, many other crops such as carrots, are termed biennials - that is, they will not produce until the second year of growth. With carrots, you must over- winter the plants for seed under mulch (or dig up the plants and store the roots for the second planting). Further complicating matters, carrots crosspollinate freely with other car rot cultivars and with the common weed Queen Anne's lace. Commercial growers go to great lengths to keep their carrot varieties separated by more than a mile to avoid this. With all these complications, I'd think it best you buy fresh seed every year.

Have questions? Send them to Bing J. Carbone, 46 Winthrop Woods Road, Huntington CT 06484, or e- mail them to bjcgardens@aol.com