On our walk yesterday we saw icicles growing on the rocks.  It got down to 16 degrees in the morning, BRRRR.  But then warmed up enough by noon to walk the loop.  The ice is melting, but it is still cold in the mountains.

 

It is supposed to start warming up today, with temperatures nearing 60 degrees, and nighttime temperatures in the 30’s and 40’s.  We can work with that.  

 

We get a little nervous when it gets so cold.  We worry about the blueberries and peaches.  But, it IS weather, and we take it and say “Thank you.”

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

Photo from the Farmers Almanac 

 

Today is the first day of Spring!!!  Yay!!!  Also called the Vernal Equinox, it occurs at 5:24 pm.  It doesn’t necessarily mean that we are going to have springlike weather, it just means that the lengths of daylight and nighttime are nearly equal.  

 

If you’d like to know more, go to https://www.farmersalmanac.com/spring-equinox-first-day-spring and read all about it.  

 

HAPPY SPRING!!!

 

One flat of seedlings transplanted into three flats of cell packs.  And each flat now holds 36 baby plants.  Wait, you say!!!  That’s 108 tomato plants!!!  Of course we won’t plant them all into OUR garden.  In fact, we only plant about 30.  So why do I plant so many seeds?

 

The answer is this:  

 

1)  It’s really hard to plant just 5 seeds of each variety.  What if they don’t germinate?

2)  It’s really easy to plant 15 seeds of each variety.

3)  Not all of the seeds are viable, especially older ones.  This way I can hedge my bets.  If I plant 15 seeds I should get at                least 6 good, strong seedlings (enough for one cell pack). As you can see on the bottom left, I only got 11 good seedlings.  

4)  Seeds have a life span, and packs of seeds usually have more than we can use in one season.  
5)  AND…we have lots of neighbors and friends who plant tomatoes.  So whatever we don’t use, somebody else will.

 

This way we can get them started and everybody gets to grow their own.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!! 

 

Here is my flat of tomato seedlings.  I sowed about 15 seeds each of 9 different varieties.  

 

These seedlings are about three weeks old.  I transplanted them into cell packs on Thursday.  We ended up with about 12 strong seedlings of each variety.  And when it’s time to put them into the garden, we will choose the strongest ones.  We still have two months to go til then, so they will live under the grow lights in the basement.  And when the weather is warm enough they can go outside each day for sun and fresh mountain air.  

 

I am reluctant to plant tomatoes into the garden until after the frost date, May 15th.  It would be so sad to work this hard, and then lose the whole crop to an early spring freeze.  So we just wait patiently.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

How do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?  Here’s a link to the Farmers Almanac, telling you all about the holiday.

 

https://www.farmersalmanac.com/st-patricks-day  

 

HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!!

 

Photos through the screen aren’t that great, but I couldn’t help it when I saw this bluebird on the post just outside my window.   He’s been hanging around for the last few days:  on the screens, at the big windows, in the trees.  

 

We have also seen Mrs. Bluebird in the trees.  I hope they find the nest boxes soon, and start a little Bluebird family.  

 

I checked the Angelcam in Yorktown, but there is no activity there yet.  I guess it’s a bit early still.  I’ll provide the link when I see something going on.  It is so fun to see bluebirds up close.  

 

HAPPY BIRDING!!!

 

 

Look!!!  These are seedlings for that fabulous Savoy cabbage that we grew last fall.  It was so good, I planted 12 more seeds and got 12 strong seedlings.  This is just one day after transplanting, and they are already bigger.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

Here are some of the transplanted seedlings.  They should be ready to go into the garden in a few weeks.  

 

We ended up with 6 flats of six-packs.  I picked out the strongest seedlings to transplant, and had quite a few seedlings left over.  Jon trimmed off the roots and put them in water to soak:  microgreens for our sandwiches.  Nothing goes to waste.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

These are two of the flats that I planted on February 20th.  And as you can see:  it’s time to transplant!

 

This is so exciting!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

I know I’ve written about this before, but it’s that time of year again:  Daylight Saving Time.

 

Here is the link to the Farmer’s Almanac: https://www.farmersalmanac.com/daylight-saving-time-change

 

HAPPY ALMOST SPRING!!!