frozen veggies!

A sad state of affairs

I continued to cover my plants every night, what a good gardener. Starting to question if I planted to early. Who am I kidding I am not questioning myself. I know exactly what I am doing. Even if it is against all the rules. I know, and I am going to be weeks ahead of everyone in Cache Valley................ya right!

Why should I listen to friends like Suzie, or Dawn , they have only been gardening in Cache Valley for 20 years, what could they know?

I got lazy last Sunday, either that or I didn't really pay attention to those reliable, local weather casters I mention before. I did not bother to cover anything, after all it has to be spring by now.

SNOW!

It is snowing! I did get the heads up from our dependable local weather person.
So I did cover up the beds that have plants in them. Those that had seed only, I left alone. I am waiting.....for spring......anytime now....still waiting!

getting carried away

So I decided to stir up the rest of the beds. Planted some cauliflower and cabbage I bought started. Planted my peppers that I started indoors, they are so tiny don't know if they will make it. Planted a bunch of seeds too. Spinach and lettuce, radishes, carrots, arugula, some onion starts, swish chard and potatoes etc.
The only problem is that it is supposed to snow in two days!

Anxious

I broke the main rule of "lasgna gardening". (Lasagna Gardening by Parricia Lanza) I stirred the pot. I turn the soil. I had to. It was like a itch, or a tick. I pulled some of the larger chucks of paper and stems that had not broken down at all. Note to self, smaller pieces breakdown faster. I may invest in a used food processor to keep in the garage and pulse my kitchen scraps before adding them to the compost. Anyways I have 7 raised beds, I stirred up three of them. I planted my three bush beans that had done so well indoors.

Oooopppsss!

I forgot all about "hardening off", dang I hope they don't die. Perhaps the toilet paper roll will protect them. Besides the soil is pretty warm. That must be an advantage to this lasagna method. The soil is active, therefore warm.

I picked up some onion sets, potatoes, red cabbage and cauliflower that I will try to plant tomorrow.

I have a horrible habit, my husband would agree, of not reading the whole sentence. Instructions are written for a reason, I guess. I peeked at the back of the pepper mix seed packets and low and behold, they can take from 10-21 days to germinate and there they are!

Beans, tomatoes and onions

Patience is a virtue

So as I mentioned the wild flowers popped right out of the soil in less than a week.(must be weeds). The tomatoes, onions and beans that I did in the toilet paper rolls were another story. After discovering my grow light, I could see the tomatoes sprouting, I was excited. Every night they went into the oven with the oven light on. Then every morning they went back to the window sill. Except one night after a long day, a spill. I planted 4 beans, 4 yellow pears, and 4 onions. One slip and then there were 3 beans, 2 onions and 3 tomatoes, and a bloody mess on the floor! I would suggest that if you want to try the toilet paper rolls,that you keep them in and high sided box, clearly my was too short. Oh well.

The tomatoes continued to sprout, but I was a good week and a bit before I saw the beans. The first was was growing like crazy, then the other two followed a day or so later. And then finally a little tiny green strand, the onions were taking! At that point I decided to use the extra space left from the accident on the floor to add a few more onion seeds.

Still however, no pepper sprouts in sight. I was disappointed, but not discouraged.

Plastic egg cartons and toilet paper rolls for planting seeds

To Seed or Not to Seed, that is the question

I have many memories or starting seeds indoors, but no memories of actually transplanting anything. I either start too early and they die before I am garden ready, or I simply forget about the poor seedlings.

Well I once again have decided to try starting a few things from seeds indoors this year.

About two weeks ago, I purchased some wild flower seeds from and local and well known garden center. I plan on spreading them around my picket fence. From the garden center I was going meet my husband for lunch and then we would be off our local H&R block to get the deed done once again. Taxes that is. I was feeling good! Whether it was the promise of spring or hope of a rebate, or just maybe it was a little drunkenness by osmosis from the clerk and the garden center I am not sure, but feeling excited just the same.

Well as it happens we owe the IRS, quite a bit. So I guess I will get my kicks from gardening not windfalls.

I did plant some of the wild flower seeds in a plastic egg carton, along with a few other choices I picked up a day or so later. The flower seeds were a Rocky Mountain Wild Flower Mix, Burpee yellow pear tomatoes, sweet spanish onions (utah strain), Burpees stringless green beans(bush), and two mixes of both sweet bell and hot salsa tomatoes, both from Burpee.

The flowers poked through with in a week. The peppers I also put in a plastic egg carton, but their sprouts were no were in sight.
I planted the beans, onions and tomatoes in empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls(cutting down the paper towel ones to size) This is a little trick I learned from my fave..."Jamie Oliver" Check out his book Jamie at Home page 128.

It has been a strange spring, snow storm after snow storm with a few sunny days in between. I must have started this project on the sunny days, because my egg cartons did fine on my kitchen window sill for a few days. Then the storms came and it became quite cold again at night. We have an old house, with single pane windows and I was sure they would not stand a chance if left there. In any other house hold this might not be a dilemma, simply put the containers on the counter for the evenings and return them to the window sill in the am. However, ours is a multiple cat house hold, one of which is very young and mischievious. She would get in them without a doubt. I know, I would put them in the oven until morning that would work. Actually it became and new discovery. There you have it, every kitchen in america has a built in grow light!