Is there no mercy? The snow is not even totally gone yet and already we are reporting the first fail. But wait. First something more cheerful. We had a mild winter followed by an early spring. We may pay for this with drought, fires and low water in the lake/reservoir this summer, but let us rejoice today.
The earliest ever blooming flower, in the sheltered bed below the living room, even earlier than snow drops. February 23, beating the previous record by 4 days.
These brave aconites have been joined by many more of their sisters, as well as snowdrops and purple crocus. That early flush is now at its peak, March 10. I find it hard to get a nice overview picture but we get the idea. I did not want to lie down on the wet ground this morning, which is what it takes to do them justice. We had a dusting of snow, which does not faze them at all.
Now the fail. My beloved leeks will be fewer and later. One cannot start them early enough. February is good, January better. Last year I had them in a planter in the window sill and that worked great.
First I discovered that leeks were not part of the leftover seed stash. I made a rush order for just leeks, but somehow William Dam forgot them and they did not arrive till later, included in the main order. Still, they were planted in mid February, not too bad. The planter had become damaged and I thought I'd be extra clever this year: fill the planter with 2x2 pots and do a precision seeding, 16 0r 9 in each pot. Using a skewer for a dibber, one tiny seed at the time. Painstaking is the word. Well. Somehow the precision seeded babies were not happy. Only a few pots came up. I suspect they got too dry.
Meanwhile the new toy was performing nicely. We enjoyed a few crops of baby arugula and some tender salads. I ripped out the arugula and planted leeks in one of the containers,
just for good measure.The seeds in the grow light contraption, watered consistently from below , did much better. I also planted one container with celery. It came up surprisingly fast.
The contraption lives in the living room, which is kept ridiculously warm because of old spouse. Meanwhile I started preparing the big grow lights, which live in the reflexology room that is kept much cooler. In order to save on electricity I will move the celery and leeks to the cool room, where I will also start some brassicas, mainly broccoli and Brussels sprouts. The four planters in the living room can house tomatoes and peppers. I hope to get this done in the next few days.
Outside the perennial onions are coming up strong!
The earliest ever blooming flower, in the sheltered bed below the living room, even earlier than snow drops. February 23, beating the previous record by 4 days.
Now the fail. My beloved leeks will be fewer and later. One cannot start them early enough. February is good, January better. Last year I had them in a planter in the window sill and that worked great.
First I discovered that leeks were not part of the leftover seed stash. I made a rush order for just leeks, but somehow William Dam forgot them and they did not arrive till later, included in the main order. Still, they were planted in mid February, not too bad. The planter had become damaged and I thought I'd be extra clever this year: fill the planter with 2x2 pots and do a precision seeding, 16 0r 9 in each pot. Using a skewer for a dibber, one tiny seed at the time. Painstaking is the word. Well. Somehow the precision seeded babies were not happy. Only a few pots came up. I suspect they got too dry.
just for good measure.The seeds in the grow light contraption, watered consistently from below , did much better. I also planted one container with celery. It came up surprisingly fast.
The contraption lives in the living room, which is kept ridiculously warm because of old spouse. Meanwhile I started preparing the big grow lights, which live in the reflexology room that is kept much cooler. In order to save on electricity I will move the celery and leeks to the cool room, where I will also start some brassicas, mainly broccoli and Brussels sprouts. The four planters in the living room can house tomatoes and peppers. I hope to get this done in the next few days.
Outside the perennial onions are coming up strong!
I love the busyness of this year with garden projects. And aren't seedlings the cutest things---which , I suppose, is what makes it so hard to thin.....
ReplyDeleteMy warmest room sits directly above the furnace and it's a terrific spot to start seedlings. As they grow and prefer cooler conditions, I move them to our coolest room. I'm sort of glad the furnace is wonky that way-ha ha.
Have a great weekend
It is nice to have choices.
DeleteI admire all your planning ahead. What a lovely garden!
ReplyDeleteMy planning leaves much to be desired compared to people like Sue, and ladies who create those handy garden planners that i always plan to use and rarely do....
Delete