Long Over Due Update
Hi All,
I guess that some how that life has gotten the better of me. I've been working on other writing projects these days as well as other activities afterschool. It's really ironic that as my workload decreases like this that I struggle to juggle all the things that I want to do. But I think that a lot of people find themselves in that situation - that inertia creates more inertia - a body in motion stays in motion, etc., etc.
Also, I guess another reason that things slowed down is because for quite some weeks there it was far too cold to do anything in the garden or even with my seeds in their greenhouse trays. We had several weeks of (unusual) snow which meant many missed days of school. The snow and frost meant I had to bring everything in that I could. Unfortunately (for my plants anyway) our somewhat missed named sunroom does not have direct sun which means good lighting for seedlings. For the past three years we've been here I've tried to grow seedlings in there only for them to be very leggy and dampen off. And since the sunroom was the only place that we really could put the plants a lot of my seedlings, which were doing very well, died while they were in there.
I've since moved the trays back to the front porch and they seem to be reviving and even new seedlings are popping up so I'm happy about that. I don't know if they will be ready to transplant any time soon but I can always hope for the best. If I had to do it over again, I'd try to find a sunny spot in the garage for them. We have a window in there that provides excellent morning light. I'm sure many of you are wondering why I didn't put them in the front of the house by a window but a combination of white carpet and and highly active dog mixed with a two greenhouse trays - well the survival rate wasn't so great there either.
As far as in the flowerbeds and vegetable garden all seems well there.
Last weekend my husband and I put pine straw from our own back yard to mulch one of the front beds. That bed at least 6' by 30' and we've got another of comparable size on the left. I think we still have enough pine straw to finish that one but we will see.
The vegetable garden has shoots of peas coming up in earnest - both bush, trellis, and sugar snap. My onions finally started to pop up as did the carrots just a wee bit. My radishes and rutabaga seedlings have not done as much as they were and some of those seedlings seemed to have died back in the frost. I think a good project for me might be to make a "greenhouse" row cover or something. I've seen at least one neighbor with one and their plants look fantastic.
I harvested the last of my early fall rutbagas and probably should eat them soon - they are not my favorite. I also have my brussels sprouts which look kind of sad and could also afford to be harvested. The last of my collards, too, were harvested but those got eaten along with some black eyed peas and seasonings.
I'm looking forward to this exciting growing season and to share my accomplishments with you.
Take care,
Rebecca
I guess that some how that life has gotten the better of me. I've been working on other writing projects these days as well as other activities afterschool. It's really ironic that as my workload decreases like this that I struggle to juggle all the things that I want to do. But I think that a lot of people find themselves in that situation - that inertia creates more inertia - a body in motion stays in motion, etc., etc.
Also, I guess another reason that things slowed down is because for quite some weeks there it was far too cold to do anything in the garden or even with my seeds in their greenhouse trays. We had several weeks of (unusual) snow which meant many missed days of school. The snow and frost meant I had to bring everything in that I could. Unfortunately (for my plants anyway) our somewhat missed named sunroom does not have direct sun which means good lighting for seedlings. For the past three years we've been here I've tried to grow seedlings in there only for them to be very leggy and dampen off. And since the sunroom was the only place that we really could put the plants a lot of my seedlings, which were doing very well, died while they were in there.
I've since moved the trays back to the front porch and they seem to be reviving and even new seedlings are popping up so I'm happy about that. I don't know if they will be ready to transplant any time soon but I can always hope for the best. If I had to do it over again, I'd try to find a sunny spot in the garage for them. We have a window in there that provides excellent morning light. I'm sure many of you are wondering why I didn't put them in the front of the house by a window but a combination of white carpet and and highly active dog mixed with a two greenhouse trays - well the survival rate wasn't so great there either.
As far as in the flowerbeds and vegetable garden all seems well there.
Last weekend my husband and I put pine straw from our own back yard to mulch one of the front beds. That bed at least 6' by 30' and we've got another of comparable size on the left. I think we still have enough pine straw to finish that one but we will see.
The vegetable garden has shoots of peas coming up in earnest - both bush, trellis, and sugar snap. My onions finally started to pop up as did the carrots just a wee bit. My radishes and rutabaga seedlings have not done as much as they were and some of those seedlings seemed to have died back in the frost. I think a good project for me might be to make a "greenhouse" row cover or something. I've seen at least one neighbor with one and their plants look fantastic.
I harvested the last of my early fall rutbagas and probably should eat them soon - they are not my favorite. I also have my brussels sprouts which look kind of sad and could also afford to be harvested. The last of my collards, too, were harvested but those got eaten along with some black eyed peas and seasonings.
I'm looking forward to this exciting growing season and to share my accomplishments with you.
Take care,
Rebecca
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