I know those of you in the frozen north--or the slightly-less-frozen-but-still-not-verdant eastern part of the country--are thinking, "Garden? What? It's January, crazy person. Nothing is growing."
I know you're thinking that because I used to live in both the frozen north and the slightly-less-frozen east. I remember the frustration of January and February. Months in which the only gardening happening is in one's wistful imagination as seed catalogs are perused.
But now? Now I live in New Mexico, Land of Enchantment and Surprisingly Powerful Sun. Even when it's cold outside, the sun makes it . . . not as cold.
And so, things are growing. Things inside and outside.
Okay, so mostly the things growing outside are weeds, but still! Green things! Outside! In January!
Also outside are some tiny lettuce plants that sprouted in the framed bed I had the lettuce in last year. I let those plants go to seed, then shook some of the seed right back into that bed. A. put some old windows over the wooden frame to help the soil warm up, and sure enough, there are at least three lettuce plants that have sprouted in the last two weeks. I expect more will be sprouting soon, too.
I'm very excited about this development.
A. also planted some arugula, collards, and squash seeds as an experiment to see if we can simulate the vigor of volunteer plants. They haven't done anything yet, but we expect great things from them.
The lettuce outside means that I don't need to start it inside this year. Instead, our fancy seed-starting equipment is being used for Cubby and Charlie's Megaton cabbages and free basil.
The broken laundry basket and old florescent lights have been improved this year by aluminum foil to trap the heat and reflect the light. Because A. is nothing if not innovative.
The lone sprout is another cabbage that came up later than the others and is awaiting transplant. The basil is in there, too, but it hasn't come up yet because I just planted it yesterday.
The next seeds to be started will be tomatoes, although I'm not sure where we're going to put all of these as we transplant them into bigger containers. Oh well. Something will come to me. I know I have at least one more broken laundry basket around . . .
5 comments:
What did your pepper crop do last year? I will have deer fencing this year or not try any garden at all. Having purchased seeds, I guess it better be fencing. The cabbages look exciting!
Those lettuce plants are such exciting news.
Linda
MiL: The seeds germinated really well, the plants did well, there were a lot of flowers . . . but no peppers. A lot of the flowers just dropped right off, and the peppers that did grow were bitter and yuck. Not sure if it was the growing conditions--it was kind of hard to water them where they were--or the fact that they were just seeds from those mini bell peppers from the store, but I got some standard bell pepper seeds this year to try again.
My investigation suggests that your temperature extremes are probably the problem. Try to place your plants where it might be a bit cooler during the day and warmer at night--also, epsom salt solutions are recommended. Too much nitrogen is not good. Hot peppers are more tolerant of high temperatures than sweet ones.
I'm taking inventory of my seeds. I'll order what I need (which won't be much), and then start seedlings in my IKEA mini-greenhouses. They won't go in the ground until mid-May, but I'm nurturing the dream.
(location - about 40 miles south of Green Bay, Wisconsin, the football stadium nicknamed the "Frozen Tundra.")
Post a Comment