The Season Begins

The non-event winter and early, early spring are conspiring to make me feel behind.  I am not fond of cold weather, but winter does keep you inside where you might, perhaps, clean out closets or the pantry or the freezer.  There are a dozen inside chores that simply did not get done this winter-that-never-was because it was just too nice outside.  In fact the weather was so inspiring that I started too many projects: the new herb bed (about 3/4 ready), a place for a small three sisters garden down by the barn (about 1/4 ready), more raised beds by the fence (started in my head only)...to name a few.  Not to mention the more mundane things like stringing new electric fence that should have been done.  And now with spring flowers blooming in February, it feels like the gardening season has begun.  In fact, it has.

I have lettuce coming up in the garden.  I bought a couple of really cheap packets of  an Italian mix at the Dollar General.  I thought it would be a really skimpy amount of seeds, but I was pleasantly surprised.  They seem to be germinating well too.

I have also become intrigued with a new (to me) seed-starting method called winter sowing.  The idea is not so much to push the season as it is to use the winter downtime to pot up seeds and then leave them outside to sprout on their own schedule.  I have read that the result is hardy seedlings that you don't have to harden off before transplanting.  So I bought handfuls of dollar store seed packets to experiment with.  So far the bachelor buttons have sprouted and look good.  A vine called cardinal climber sprouted but then got nipped off by cold.  Possibly not all seeds are suitable for this.  It is frightening to me to be sticking tomato seeds outside in February, but winter sowing experts admonish beginners to "trust the seed".  You can read more at WinterSown.Org.  Below are my wintersown seeds in all manner of  repurposed containers.