It's been an interesting few weeks. A few health issues, now under control, have kept me from blogging. I apologize to the handful of people who read this.
Today was planting day! The Princess and I got lots of starts going. In the front window we have Cebolla onions, Flat of Italy onions and Leeks. We also put in some Rocky Top lettuce mix. These were all sown in containers from cookies and such that were clear with lids. They were cleaned and bleached to kill any buggies and then filled with starter soil and planted. I love free potting containers!
In the basement we have the more traditional set up. I have the 72 cell trays that I filled with starter soil. These are placed on a heat mat and have a clear top to make a little greenhouse. As they start to sprout the top will be removed and I'll turn on the grow lights. I'll also need to pull out certain cells to put in other places. The peppers, for instance need the heat mat. The cabbage and broccoli do not, so as soon as they sprout they'll be moved to another place. So far I've planted Quadratto D'Asti Peppers which are a large bell pepper that I love. I've also got jalapenos and am trying again with Chili De Comida peppers. The Comida peppers have a very low rate of germination, so we'll see how they do.
The herbs this year will be lots of Genovese Basil. We'll also be adding to the oregano in the garden and the Thyme. I'm also trying to get some chives started to plant in the herb bed. My goal is to have a full bed of herbs that we can eat from with either dried or fresh herbs, all year long.
The last thing planted was Dutch Late Flat Cabbage and Green Goliath Broccoli. I'm really hoping that they do better this year. Last year they looked fantastic until I set them out. Then they just flopped over and died. In the end all I got was 3 heads of sad cabbage and not a single broccoli plant made it. We are huge broccoli eaters, so that was a major loss for us. I'm still learning, so this year I'm going to make some cut worm collars with toilet paper rolls when planting them. I'll cry if they don't make it again.
Today will also be the day to order blueberry bushes. I'm going to be planting in my back where we cut down some dying trees. It's got good sun, with some shade and lots of moisture. I'll also be planting 3 crowns of rhubarb back there that I've already ordered. In the spring we'll get 2 more fruit trees for the front yard as well. It would be so nice to have the space for strawberries, but we just don't have it. A girl can dream.
I have lots of other things I'll be posting about in the next few days. In the meantime, I have to get the mountains of laundry and other mess cleaned up. My poor hubby was so helpful while I was sick, but there is only so much the man could do.
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