Ready to plant!

Yesterday I bought seeds and I'm all ready to plant them today. I live in Minnesota (hardiness zone 4), and we're not past the safe date for the last frost, but I'm just going to plant my early stuff. I have peas, carrots, radishes, beets, potatoes, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, and rhubarb (the last two are perennials that I'll be planting to harvest in subsequent years).

I've also purchased seeds to start for the flowers I'll be using in the garden. I'm going to plant marigolds around the potatoes and tomatoes, because marigolds discourage the bugs that prey on both plants. I'm also using cosmos and nasturtium because they attract beneficial bugs. I always plant morning glories in front, to climb up the fence on the side of the garden that faces the house, just because it looks pretty. I don't think I'll plant any of these outside today, I'll just start them indoors.

I couldn't find seed potatoes for sweet potatoes. I've never planted sweet potatoes before, but I just love them and was planning on putting some in this year. The woman at the garden center said they never get them in and she thinks it's because our growing season isn't long enough for them. I'll have to do some research. Ruth Stout wrote that she harvested potatoes throughout the winter in her New England garden, by placing bales of hay on top of them to keep the cold out. I think I want to experiment a little with this. If only I could find sweet potatoes...