Plannin' It Out

written by Yvonne

It's finally time to hit the dirt!  Just a little more planning so that things will go smoothly once I start planting seeds.  Since I've committed to succession planting, I got all the dates written down so I won't get confused. I double checked the dates on the packets (along with the last frost date) so I wouldn't be tempted to put things out too early.

Once I have are few dozen newspaper pots with small, green things growing in them, I'm going to forget what got started when.  I thought marking the pots with #1 or #2 might be a good idea (the numbers indicating whether it was the first or second planting of that item).  And since the pots are paper, it also seems like a good way to mark what seed is in each.  If this works, it will be much more efficient than having little sticks stuck in each pot, or what we did previously which was to mark the container the pots were in. I was pretty happy with myself for thinking to write on the pots BEFORE I filled them with dirt. The newspaper will get dark once it's wet so we'll see if I can still read it.

The soil is a combination of potting dirt, peat moss, and our very own worm castings.

I'M HAPPY!  Finally newspaper pots are getting filled with dirt and seeds!  Seems like this has been on my 'got to do this weekend' list for three weeks now! The seeds planted this round are onions (bunching and white), radishes, and buttercrunch lettuce.

I mixed up a batch of Jerry Baker's Seed Starter Tonic to encourage the seeds to grow strong and fruitful.  The tonic is a mixture of tea, ammonia, dish soap, and whiskey.  (Tom didn't think it was fair that the garden got to start drinking before we did.)

After watering the seeds I sprayed the tonic on the tops of each seed. Then I zipped up the mini-greenhouse to keep the seeds warm.  At some point we're going to get a thermometer to stick in the greenhouse to see how much warmer it is than outside.

Seeds that were sown directly into box #4 were sugar peas, cowpeas, and two kinds of carrots.  We both giggling every time I said "peas and carrots".  Guess we thought it was funny 'cause that's what you hear mom's tell their kids, "Eat your peas and carrots."  (Maybe you had to be there.)

While I was getting the Spring vegetable garden off to a good start, Tom finished trimming trees in the yard. Several weeks ago he trimmed the two biggest crepe myrtles; one of which was growing up into the electrical wires, and the other was overpowering our driveway.  This weekend he trimmed back the next two largest crepe myrtles and the apple tree (shown here).  Can you see him?  Of course Olive was outside helping us both with all of our outdoor tasks. She's even  harder to find, but she's in this picture too.

Don't forget - If you're looking for updates on the bees, go to TsBeesHoney.com.  While you're there, fill out the Contact T's Bees page and you'll be notified when honey is ready for purchase.