I don’t know what the gardening scenario is like in your neck of the woods but here in Maine, unless you’ve got a greenhouse, growing vegetables right now is a wee bit difficult. 😉
Planning for warmer temperatures though, I’m all about that these days.
The previous owners left a garden trellis behind when bought the house and I’ve been eying it ever since. I told the HH the trellis would be perfect for cucumbers to crawl up but that we need a few more of them. And he was like… no, no I think one will be fine. Which I thought was hilarious because it would only mean one thing….
His response was based on the fact that he knew what was coming next…
That I’d ask him to build me a few more. 🙂 That man is FUNNY! Whatever. So as soon as he’s done with the bathroom remodel he’s be knee deep in making garden trellises and birdhouses for me.
No peace. That man gets no peace. 😉
Fact: Getting seeds in a pretty packet is WAY MORE fun than getting them in a little zip baggie.
In other gardening news…
The chives I started a few weeks ago in the little Jiffy Greenhouses {you can find them at Home Depot for $6.99} are already 2 inches tall. For some reason I have better luck starting chives in peat pellets then sowing them directly in the ground.
Baby rosemary! I started 12. That should be enough, don’t you think? 😉
And my flat of purple coneflower… Almost all the seeds are up. Yesterday I thinned them out to 1 seedling per peat pellet.
I like to use my Fiskers Pro Tip Pruners to do the job rather than pull the seedlings out by hand, that way I’m not damaging their little roots in case they’re wrapped around each other down in the soil.
It gives me great satisfaction starting these from seed because I know that if I were to purchase individual pots of purple coneflower at the nursey, they’d run $7.99 per plant. This way, in my mind I’m saving big bucks and with the 72 seedlings I’m starting I’ll be able to plant a nice swath of them on the property somewhere later this spring.
And last but not least… the French Lavender seeds I planted 3 weeks ago still aren’t up. And that’s okay! These babies can take anywhere from 30 – 60 days to emerge {they are currently hanging out in the fridge. {You can see how to grow lavender HERE}.
Well that’s about it from my garden here in Maine. What’s happening at your place? Will you be starting any seeds indoors this year? Curious minds want to know!
Have a great weekend everyone,
Keep Calm and Garden On.
~ Mavis
Gina says
Here in Mississippi we are still under 6 to 8 inches of ice and snow . Which is not something that happens in the south often.
Katie says
Gina I’m in central Texas, grew up in Louisiana. We got several inches of snow in January. It was the most I have ever seen in my life. So it was very odd to be hit with another winter storm this week! The snow is still melting.
Shari Harniss says
I have my Botanical Interests seed packets waiting for me to organize, with some sweet peas on the way. I ordered a pack that’s supposed to be very fragrant. We’ll see.
I, like you, am super excited to get growing! If it would stop raining cats and dogs for more than a 5 minutes…
Glenna says
Here is PA we are still new deep in snow and ice. But this weekend is seed starting. I have the beds all diagrammed and planned and seeds are all ordered. Most have arrived. My hubby will also be busy building trellises soon. I am trying some new stuff this year. We will see. Happy gardening!!
Rosemary Calhoun says
We have a greenhouse and currently have kale, spinach, cabbage and romaine lettuce growing (plants are in the ground). We have been harvesting the kale, spinach and romaine but the cabbages just have tiny heads so far. Outside the greenhouse (in a raised box planter) we have garlic and onions (but they haven’t come up yet). Looking forward to spring and planting more veggies (cucumbers, tomatoes, etc).
Robin in WI says
Thanks for the reminder! I need to start some Cherokee Purple seeds in our sunny but unheated storage room. 😉
Mel says
We are in the middle of an ice storm, so I need the ground to thaw before I do anything much outside. We have strawberry plants in the fridge that I need to plant, and I also have some seed packets I need to scatter. I ordered pepper, cucumber, and herb seedlings from Etsy since those require a long time under grow lights and don’t do well for us from seed anyway (our house is just too cold this time of year). It’s only about 4-6 weeks until I can start harvesting my purple sprouting broccoli outside though, so I’m looking forward to that.
Our daffodils have been blooming for over a week, which is a little concerning. They get earlier every year.
Katie says
I only have a front plant bed in my cookie cutter suburban house. But I ripped out all of the plants that the builder put in (which are the same for every house) and planted tulip bulbs last December. I’m in central Texas by the way. Well, we had snow(!!) in January, like 5″ that stuck around for a few days. And soon after the thaw, my bulbs started coming up. In January. I was very excited to see over 40 plants coming up and several of them already blooming. Tulips are my FAVORITE. But then Texas got hit with a winter storm this week – more snow and ice. And once we uncovered the flower bed just about all of my plants were crushed. I do have one lone survivor though 🙂 I want to try container gardening this summer – maybe jalepenos. Those are very easy to grow here.
Linda says
Way too early to think about planting in upstate NY, that will happen the end of May. I have begun some flowers in the house under grow lights. The allysum, johnny jump ups (I always grow a good size pot of them, sweet william and verbena are up. I want to start the multicolored cone flowers this weekend.
Although I have started the flowers, I’m not pushing for spring, I love winter and the change of pace it brings.
I made your pear crumb cake today Mavis and it’s delicious.
suzanne says
I would love some pics on his obelisk diy. Specifically the degree of the angles at the top joining point. I cobbled one together from various tutorials and am very happy with it but it was difficult to assemble. I want at least two more.
I finally have a green house! It’s stickbuilt 12×20 with polycarbonate panels. It was buttoned up a few weeks ago. We left the vents open with the fans on to dry it out. Big mistake. I went in to build shelves and there was a fungus nat infestation of biblical proportions going on. I bombed the building and covered the soil with a tarp and it seems ok but I’m worried it will reoccur when I pull back the tarp to plant this spring.
Nancy says
Yes, me too! Hubby will make if I have plans/instructions!
sharon says
Hello everyone,
SO today when checking my seeds I was so excited my mexican sunflowers sprouted till I realized I didnt plant them in a pod that will break down. the packet says sensitive to root disturbances if not planted in biodegradable pots! Ideas?? I figured between Mavis and everyone one else someone will have an idea that can save them.
Rosemary Calhoun says
Is it the kind of pod that you could cut the bottom off (being careful not to cut roots) – that way the plant could still send out its roots once it is planted.
Sharon says
It is in a plastic tray kind. That is attached to other items. I can’t believe I did this. Worse case I could try to cut it. They just sprouted so the roots are not deep yet maybe I can transfer them??
Rosemary Calhoun says
Maybe transfer half of them and with the other half, cut the tray. See which ones do better. At least you wouldn’t have lost the whole set, only half, if one way doesn’t work.
Mrs. C says
So far:
onions, onions, onions, and more onions
sweet potato slips
peppers, with more to come
rutabaga
chives, chervil
Much more to come. I start peppers early because they take so long to germinate and produce
Kippy says
I just got the Botanical Interests catalog and circled probably 30 different seed packets. Then had the reality check of having a small garden area. Time to review and pick an appropriate number of seed packets to order.
Linda T says
Mavis, that trellis is holding what looks like several clematis plants, which, in the spring, will be absolutely beautiful. I’m with you, planting can’t come soon enough.
Teresa Young says
I’ve got my seeds and jiffy pots – I’ll start planting inside in about a month.
This year we’re growing bush beans, beets, radishes, honeynut squash, cherry tomatoes, echinacea, milkweed & zinnias from seed.
Pat says
I had to laugh when I saw the trellis. My daughter lives in CT and planted couple of cucumbers in trellises like that last year. Those things completely hid the trellises and climbed up the downspouts to the second story of the house!
Lisa says
It will be a few more weeks before I start seeds here in the frozen tundra of MN! It was -20 over the weekend, we had over 10 days with temps below 10 for a high and some days the high was below zero! BRRR!! But loving my sunroom! My plants love it too and it is the prefect place to start my seedlings! Been planning the garden and where I can add another veggie bed. We installed a cattle fence panel arbor last year for the winter squash and love it! Google them, they are really fun and work great if you don’t have a ton of space. Adding more annual flowers for pollination this year too.
Bobbi says
That’s beautiful. Here’s a tutorial from mother earth news. I plan to make a few myself!
https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/diy-garden-obelisk-zm0z20amzbut
Linda says
The trellis you want to use for cucumbers looks like it is enclosing a very nice clematis plant. Seems a shame to pull that trellis off of it, unless you dig the entire plant with trellis and place someplace else where you’d like to enjoy the vine and it’s lovely flowers.
Christy says
When hubby figures out how to build the trellis would you please post the plan/instructions? That looks like a good sturdy trellis.
Mavis Butterfield says
Yes. 🙂