After a shorter than usual Winter’s nap, we too are emerging from our afghans and quilts. Our long-neglected muscles are only matched by our all-too-neglected blog. Who is writing this anyway? Apparently, not us. It’s not for lack of things to tell you about. There are always new, fun, slightly crazy, mostly exhausting things going on. There are plenty of new adventures in plants and seeds and infrastructure. And there are often photos worthy of viewing, if I do say so myself.

Emerging Cat Grass

And so, I give you an emerging garden collection. I went out into the gardens in search of new growth. It’s a cute time of year. Everything seems so manageable and in its place. Some seeds, like the radishes and beans, are just coming into being.  The broccoli and lettuce, on the other hand, has been around for a while now. Amazing salads have been consumed. Enjoy. Click on the thumbnail images for an expanded view.

Most gardening books and seed packets will suggest planting for the least amount of re-planting. It makes a lot of sense. It saves soil, time and effort. It also likely produces less shock on the fragile seedlings. But in the Midwest and north, Winter is long and boring. If you glance back a few posts, you can see I gave in and started some veggie seeds in late February. With this jump start on the season, it becomes necessary to have lights, a good watering ethic, and eventually the resources to manage potting on.

Potting on becomes a very quiet, meditative experience. There is a certain rhythm to it. I can’t claim to have actually found that rhythm. I have always been a bit rhythmically challenged. Still, it was a day spent with dirt and sun, and that was nice. I did find myself a little bored toward the end of the day, but I potted on over 30 eggplant, over 50 tomatoes, and several peppers. Have loads more to go, but ran myself out of room.

That’s the other thing you need when potting on – space, and lots of it.

Starting vegetable seedlings indoors seems to awaken a completely irrational part of my brain. I even planned things out this year with a spreadsheet and everything. Didn’t matter. When it came time to actually plant these cute little storehouses of potential, I couldn’t help but do one more flat of peppers, and entire flat of basil, several extra okra… Whatever I was planting, I consistently over-planted.

Naturally, I justify such actions with a nod to science (“with one seed per cell, I can better calculate germination rates”), and a glance to past experience (“I will likely lose some of these to carelessness and weather, so I better plant a few extra”). It’s all a bunch of crap really. I want to watch my forest of seedlings grow. I want to plant them all in this magical garden that weeds itself and only takes a few bug-free moments to harvest. I want to eat the freshness of  the sun and rain. That’s my intention with these seeds. My expectations are enormous, and completely irrational.

*Click on the images for a better view*

I did plant many of these to sell at the plant sales – so I haven’t completely lost my mind. So, come shop for plants and buy a few veggies while you are at it. More info coming soon on the sale days, times and location.

Whassup?! Where have we been!? Shamefully neglecting our blog apparently. I blame it on our faulty internet connection this past week and generally failing, aging computers prior to that. It’s really not our fault. Stop pointing at us.

Ok. So let me catch you up on some growth. While the blog has been neglected, I have remembered to water the seedlings. And they are doing pretty well. I’d like to toughen them up a bit, but it has been cold and incredibly windy these past few weeks. I’ve toyed with the idea of setting up a fan next to the shelf to simulate the wind. Worthwhile?

Pictured here are peppers (about 4-5 varieties) and tomatoes (about 3-4 varieties). Good times ahead.

I did it. I finally did it. I built a little light shelf for seed trays this season. I see these types of things for sale in the catalogs every year and they usually cost an unreasonable $295 or more! No way am I paying that much for a shelf with lights. My version was made with wood I had so my cost estimate won’t be very accurate, but I’d guess $25 for the wood, $40 for the lights (including full spectrum bulbs), and maybe another $10 screws and a poly finish. Optional timers are more and I actually bought a fancy one for about $25 that would accept the three-pronged light plugs. 

The construction was wonderfully simple so maybe it won’t last, but for light seasonal applications, it should work just fine. The vertical posts are 1×6 pine boards ripped in half and cut to 43″. The shelves are 1×10 pine boards cut to 52″. I pre-drilled all the screw holes and counter-sunk slightly. I thought I would need to add more diagonal braces, but it feels stable. Screw in some hooks to hang the lights, mount the powerstrip, and you are done. It took me an afternoon, but could be stretched out for the whole weekend with extra trips to the hardware store. 

Now I just need to order the seeds.

Today was an awesomely sunny sort of day. Warm too. The cold frame needed to be opened and thinned out. Need to make room for some more seedlings. I took some lettuce and spindly spinach out to the garden proper. There was a bed already made for them. It will be a miracle if they all live. But I believe in miracles. Now we will just need to keep an eye on the weather. If it freezes again, things will need some covering.