Finally

I started seeds yesterday!

In my mini greenhouse from Territorial Seed, I planted seeds for anything that wants to be started indoors. Cayenne peppers, mini bell peppers, two varieties of tomato, two varieties of basil, chives, eggplant, and oregano. I also did a couple of experiments to see what the difference really is between indoor-started and direct sown with kale, pac choi, and green onions. With the greens, I figure at the very least I can use the snippets as micro greens. The onions should grow fine, there was just a note on the packet that said direct sown seeds would be "more uniform." Whatever that means. Anyway, who can't use more baby onions? Also started a couple of sunflowers. They came free with my seed order, so why the heck not? My garden could certainly use a little color.

I used up the rest of my first bag of potting soil by starting my sugar snap peas outside. I can't wait for those babies to mature. I tried growing them last year too, but it was like they were suicidal. First, they swelled up in a rainstorm and floated out of the dirt and got eaten by wild critters. Then when I pushed them back down, they sprouted and got eaten by wild critters. This time around I tried to be smarter, and put them on the railing right outside my door. Hopefully this will discourage wild critters.

Next weekend I will start the other outdoor starters. Going to need more potting soil before then!

I definitely have too many seedlings for the garden right now....I planted 50 peat pots. I should hear early next month if I'm going to get a plot in the community garden nearby, so I'll have some things to start there. If not, I'll send some extras to my grandparents and parents and in-laws in small containers. They all enjoy the vegetables I bring them, so this would mean no waiting!

I feel very clever about using water leftover from hard boiling eggs to water the seeds. Conservationist, that's me!

Now they sit for a day undisturbed before I try watering them again.

I would also like to point out that Sinfest has started its gardening for the season, too.

Hopefully, we'll see some green popping out from the soil too, so there'll be pictures again.

What early spring looks like

Got my seeds! Spread 'em all out nice and fancy to take pictures!



That's about as far as I got.


We are STILL mired in The Big Move, so this weekend was spent getting the house decluttered so our realtor could come snap pictures of our humble abode.



Next weekend, though. I promise.



At least, I hope. But heck, I didn't start last year until July, so I'm still ahead of the game, right? Right??

Tonight, we dance

Or more aptly...this weekend, we garden.

I spoke to my gardening consultant (aka "Dad") yesterday, who informed me that I can start my seeds "last week." This weekend, then, will be a project. I really need to get my pots indoors and scrubbed, I need to get my potting soil topped up, and I need to start planting! My planting chart will be consulted, but right now, I'm thinking....peas outdoors, lettuce and greens outdoors, tomatoes indoors, eggplant indoors, hot peppers indoors. Actually, I can probably get my carrots and radishes sown outside as well now that I think about it. The weather's been warm enough that I could probably take care of those and the peas tonight after work.

I also got on the waiting list for a Community Garden just a few minutes away from our current home. I won't hear until April whether I get a plot, so I can't do much planning ahead as far as starting more varieties. But since I'll start multiple seedlings of the same plants, the excess could go into the community spot. And I can always pick up plants next month.

So yes. This week will officially kick off my gardening season, after a long long winter.

I held a lamb!

Last year, I made a conscious decision to start getting more of our food from local sources. I considered a vegetable CSA share, but to be honest, I really didn't want to be all tied up in one farm when there are a whole variety of Massachusetts producers to explore. I did, however, seek out a farm that sells meat shares - enter Chestnut Farms and farmers Kim and Rich. We started off with a 10lb share, split with my parents, and when our 6 months was up, we increased to a 25lb share. Kim does drop-offs once a month around the MetroWest, which makes this a pretty convenient thing to do. (I will not lie or pretend that it isn't challenging to have someone else selecting a month's worth of meat for me, but I plan our meals two weeks at a time, and that has worked very well.)

This month's pick up was yesterday, and Kim brought her daughter Marlisa as well as a brand new wee baby lamb! I wish I'd brought a camera. The tiny little thing was just born on Friday, and I could feel his heart beating next to my hand. Truly amazing. If I thought I could convince my husband that this was a peculiar-looking, long legged cat, I may have smuggled the baby home in my coat. The whole thing was just so darned cool, and this is not the sort of thing one can do when one buys meat from commercial feedlots.

This summer, I'm still going to stick to farmer's markets and my own garden for produce, but I'm going to make a bigger effort to build relationships with local farms. I really think it's the way to go, even if it takes a little more time than this modern world expects. More thoughts on that later.