Sowing seeds of spring
It's February and it's that time of year again!
I wish I had a nice green house to do all this, but like most people, I still have to play musical tables and windows for most of my agricultural endeavors.
I do have a good place for starting seeds in our shop. But in the winter time, this place holds my husbands motorcycle. Grrrr. So I can't use it until he does an oil change and gets it back out on the road. Sometime at the end of February, if I'm lucky.
So until then, I make do in the sun room. A few years ago, we added on a lovely south-facing sun room w/ hard wood floors and no furniture. It's where we do yoga and the kids play. I love it. But sometimes it has a few tables set up in front of the windows and that's where the magic starts. First: Seeds. Second: Chicks. Third: Husband gets so fed up with the farm taking up residence in our yoga room that he changes the oil in his bike and starts riding it to work. Then I move it all out to the shop.
Right now I'm between one and two. Started a few seeds last week and have set up tubs for the chicks.
It's Feb 19th, and I've sown some snow peas, some lettuces, radicchio, early broccoli, basil and cilantro for window pots (which I just keep sowing all fall and winter to have indoor herbs). I need to do come cabbage and start a few more herbs too. I have two beds prepped for some early veg too. My trellis was set up in the fall for my early peas. I did really well transplanting little pea shoots in March last year. They did WAY better than my directly sown seeds... earlier peas! So I'm starting some pea seeds inside again and will probably transplant them and direct sow at the same time in early March.
As I've said before, I like to plant a little bit of most things every few weeks. We eat a lot of salads, peas, broccoli, cabbage and herbs... so I always want to have some of that on the go. The lettuces I planted last fall under cover are coming along. So is the Swiss chard. We should eat them by the end of March, I think. Purple sprouting broccoli wintered over nicely, so I expect to eat that soon.
And speaking of things wintering over nicely... what didn't? I have calendula PLANTS that wintered over! I don't want to think of all the garden pests and other bugs that have wintered over because of the mild weather. Oh well. On the plus side, I'm still picking parsley and mint.
On Friday, I'm going to pick up our new chicks to add to our laying flock. I've decided to try a few each of Dominique (again), Whites, Sussex (again), Ancona, Ameraucana and RI Reds. I love the Dominikers... they are such good layers and foragers. Really lovely birds for our place. But I like to try new breeds. Probably get 2-3 of each.
If you are like me, this time of year you look out and see mud and some grass and feel a little daunted by all the work ahead. I am not inspired. It helps me to look at pictures from the previous summer when everything was lush and beautiful. It reminds me why I love this work. So here is mine. I hope you have fun sowing some seeds this year too.
Oh, and if anyone wants some comfrey starts, I'll be dividing mine next month!! Let me know if you want any.
I wish I had a nice green house to do all this, but like most people, I still have to play musical tables and windows for most of my agricultural endeavors.
I do have a good place for starting seeds in our shop. But in the winter time, this place holds my husbands motorcycle. Grrrr. So I can't use it until he does an oil change and gets it back out on the road. Sometime at the end of February, if I'm lucky.
So until then, I make do in the sun room. A few years ago, we added on a lovely south-facing sun room w/ hard wood floors and no furniture. It's where we do yoga and the kids play. I love it. But sometimes it has a few tables set up in front of the windows and that's where the magic starts. First: Seeds. Second: Chicks. Third: Husband gets so fed up with the farm taking up residence in our yoga room that he changes the oil in his bike and starts riding it to work. Then I move it all out to the shop.
Right now I'm between one and two. Started a few seeds last week and have set up tubs for the chicks.
It's Feb 19th, and I've sown some snow peas, some lettuces, radicchio, early broccoli, basil and cilantro for window pots (which I just keep sowing all fall and winter to have indoor herbs). I need to do come cabbage and start a few more herbs too. I have two beds prepped for some early veg too. My trellis was set up in the fall for my early peas. I did really well transplanting little pea shoots in March last year. They did WAY better than my directly sown seeds... earlier peas! So I'm starting some pea seeds inside again and will probably transplant them and direct sow at the same time in early March.
As I've said before, I like to plant a little bit of most things every few weeks. We eat a lot of salads, peas, broccoli, cabbage and herbs... so I always want to have some of that on the go. The lettuces I planted last fall under cover are coming along. So is the Swiss chard. We should eat them by the end of March, I think. Purple sprouting broccoli wintered over nicely, so I expect to eat that soon.
And speaking of things wintering over nicely... what didn't? I have calendula PLANTS that wintered over! I don't want to think of all the garden pests and other bugs that have wintered over because of the mild weather. Oh well. On the plus side, I'm still picking parsley and mint.
On Friday, I'm going to pick up our new chicks to add to our laying flock. I've decided to try a few each of Dominique (again), Whites, Sussex (again), Ancona, Ameraucana and RI Reds. I love the Dominikers... they are such good layers and foragers. Really lovely birds for our place. But I like to try new breeds. Probably get 2-3 of each.
If you are like me, this time of year you look out and see mud and some grass and feel a little daunted by all the work ahead. I am not inspired. It helps me to look at pictures from the previous summer when everything was lush and beautiful. It reminds me why I love this work. So here is mine. I hope you have fun sowing some seeds this year too.
Oh, and if anyone wants some comfrey starts, I'll be dividing mine next month!! Let me know if you want any.