March 7, 2013 - Full Steam Ahead!

Last night I planted a flat (72 cells) of spinach, 54 Olympia Hybrid and 18 Space.  This morning I planted a 6-pack each of Early Golden Acre cabbage, Gonzales cabbage and Hybrid Super Blend broccoli.

It was gorgeous outside today!  According to the weather man, it was only 56F.  Believe me, working out in the sun it felt much, much warmer.  After I got the seeds planted and under their humidity domes, I headed out to construct a leaf bin in my "compost corner".  I had a section of porch railing that we removed from the patio last fall, which worked well for one side after adding extra pickets.  The existing fences were utilized for two sides, and I framed up a piece of lattice for the removable front.  I used zip ties to hold it in place, so I can just cut them to take off the entire panel to get to the contents.  I got most of the many bags of chopped leaves dumped into it, but I'll have to let them settle for a few days before I can add the rest of them.


I still have a bit of tweaking to do, two more pickets to cut, paint and add on to one side, but it's looking much better than the stack of black plastic bags that used to be there.  I'll soon have this corner all cleaned up and lookin' good.


I have seedlings growing everywhere!

 Spinach, leeks and lettuce in the mini-greenhouse in the shed.


All tucked in for the night.  I'm keeping the light on at night for warmth, but letting them stay really cool all day.


Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli, along with bags of seed potatoes, in the laundry room window.  As soon as these seeds germinate, they'll go out to the shed.


Peppers on the warming lights in the bedroom.  




18 comments:

  1. Wow! You are going full speed already! Looking good! Nancy

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  2. WOW! You are very busy...I feel way behind. I just put my seed order in. OK the warming lights...are they string lights? do they get warm enough?

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    1. Carrie, yes the rope lights get perfectly warm if I lay them over aluminum foil, about 80F inside the domed containers.

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  3. LOL. You really have them growing everywhere! I really love the window in your laundry room. Very nice and large with a sturdy looking shelf.

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    1. I love that window too, Tosh. Unfortunately, it faces north. It doesn't get enough sunlight to really grow things in it, although the tomato plants did surprisingly well last year.

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  4. Way to go! That has to feel really good. I'm hoping to get started in the next couple of days. Can hardly wait!

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    1. Ray, it's hard to hold back once the sun comes out ;-)

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  5. You've got seeds in every possible place. Lots of places to check on! I like your rope "warming" lights for your peppers!

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    1. Yes, Megan, I need to get them organized into just the two areas eventually. As the cool weather ones sprout, they'll be moved out to the shed. The tomatoes and peppers will stay in the house. The temperature plunged way down into the mid 20s last night, but I'm trusting the lights in the shed kept the seedlings warm enough.

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  6. wow looks like you have a great start on the growing season!! I haven't even brought seeds yet...LOL

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    1. Mrs. P., after a very cold night, it's supposed to be warm and sunny today. Hopefully I'll get more outside work done!

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  7. You wouldn't know it was almost spring here. We got a bit of a surprise with this storm. They predicted 3-6" turning to rain. Well we might well get a foot and no rain. The last time we had that prediction we got 1" and it rained a lot, so nothing stuck. I was hoping. Next week we will have some 50s weather and I was hoping to get some spinach in the ground. I think the earlier spinach goes in the easier it germinates (I don't do it indoors like you do). I suspect a bit of freeze thaw helps them out.

    I did sow some seed indoors though. Lettuce, bok choy, mizuna. Not much, but enough to give me some early greens if I'm lucky. The main batch will be sown later.

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    1. Daphne, I'll direct sow most of my spinach, and use the seedlings to fill in gaps. I do want a lot of spinach this year!

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  8. Wow! I'm feeling like a slug now. Ok, must start seeds this weekend, you have inspired me!

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    1. LOL, Nartaya, I found a big old slug in the garden today! I was hoping they had all frozen solid, but this one was warm and snug under a bag of leaves. Those things are so ugly....believe me, you are no slug :-)

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  9. I love the Olympia variety, it will go all winter here and even put up with a bit of heat. That is a lovely window you have for those plants!

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    1. That's good to know, Erin. I've never planted Olympia before. I usually plant Tyee, and have good luck with it. I'll be planting both this spring and fall, so I'll find out which does best here. I do think the smooth leaves are more tender than the deeply savoyed ones.

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