A spring volunteer

Today is gorgeous.  Warm and sunny.  I spent most of the morning out doing spring cleaning and preparing the beds for the 6 yards of compost that arrived today.  In the process I ran into this lovely volunteer.  Not one of my picks.  Probably not the pick of our house's previous owners either.  We inherited huge, sheared boxed box hollies in this bed when we bought the house.  So this bloom is a tenacious flower with a real history.   

And I didn't weed it.  It might not fit my Pacific Northwest sense of style -- but I couldn't give up this lovely breath of spring.

Seed sprouting station modified

So today I cobbled together a lighting system for my seed starter kits.  Not exactly good interior design -- but I figure it will get my seeds the start they need for the time being. 

When I checked in on the morning sprouts this afternoon, I noticed that some of the cabbage sprouts were looking a bit fuzzy.  I am pretty sure that fuzzy isn't good.  So I pulled them, a few marigolds, and a spinach out and set them on a cookie tray for further (less humid) growing.  The seed starter kit packaging said the sprouts would be ready to plant when their roots begin to bust through the pellets.  Let's hope I have dirt in my planter by then!  At the rate they are growing, I might not....

We have sprouts!

I am absolutely amazed.  We only set the seeds in the starter kits on Tuesday afternoon.  I was sure I did most everything wrong:  I didn't cover the seeds.  I only had one heat mat (2 kits fit on it, but I had 4 kits.)  My light system wasn't installed (though I finally purchased one a the store yesterday.)  I haven't watered yet.  In fact, worries about underwatering are what got me peering closely into the kits this morning.

And there they were: cabbage sprouts were coming up.

And on even closer inspection, I could see the beginning of downward rooting on the marigold seeds too.

I think I have to remove the covers after the seeds germinate -- so later today I might move the sprouted pellets to a cookie tray.  But I am worried that I am moving too quick -- maybe I should wait for true leaves first.  I will have to read up on the process during naptime (the kids' naptime) and make a decision soon.

We started our seeds

So I still don't have soil in my raised bed and it is already March 2. No problem. The kids and I sowed our first crops in pellets today. Hopefully the soil will be in the bed by time our veggies need to be planted.

Turns out the Burpee "ecofriendly" seed starting kit I bought was really easy to use. A little over 4 cups of warm water turned the dry pellets into dark, moist 2 inch seed beds in about a minute. (In my mind that process would have taken hours. In fact I got the first one started before naps even though we didn't start 'planting' until after my kindergartner returned from school because I was worried that the pellets wouldn't be ready for the seeds.) On a side note, Burpee claims that the trays and lids are made from plants. They feel like plastic. How is that possible?

In the end, I would say that starting seed pellets was not the least stressful task to take on with kids. At first, none of the kids seemed to understand what 'plant a row' meant. But we made it through. Each kid got their own seed (spinach, beets, fennel) and 10 pellets (2 rows) to plant -- then I did the rest (chard, peas, and flowers.) I am still not sure if I got it right. Are you supposed to cover the seeds with something? I did my best to get the seeds down in the center but so far have left them to their own devices.

Finally, I am proud to say that my garden window is being used for its intended purpose for the first time. Up until now it has been largely used as a dish drain.

So as behind as I feel in the planting department, I am now started. Looking forward to seeing some sprouts soon!

Blueberries are in the ground ...

I ran out of time today but I am feeling pretty pleased.  I have a good start on my fruit bed.  Below are my four new blueberries straight out of the box. 

 

The biggest had amazing roots.  And three cheers for my soil -- a few years back worms were a rarity.  Now I run into them all the time.  You can spot at least 3 in this picture.*

I didn't get as far as I hoped.  My strawberry starts are still in the fridge and the soaker hose is still a figment of my imagination -- but the blueberries are in the ground and stepping stones have been placed so I don't crush the strawberry plants in the fall. 

And though everything is so pale in this picture -- where was the promised sun?!  You might have noticed that my new blueberry is as tall as my columnar apple and espaliered pear tree.  It must be feeling pretty proud of itself.  That's okay, cause I am feeling pretty proud too.

*If you are looking but can't find the worms, there is one off the right side of the root ball and a cluster in the upper left of the photo.  Perhaps, like me, you can be amazed by the presence of small, good things.

A sunny Sunday for yard chores

We had a wonderful mild and sunny day today.  And although I could only find a couple hours to get out into the yard, it was a delightful and productive time. Not only did I get some plants moved and pruned -- I managed to murder 7 snails in the process.

So far I am nervous about pruning my existing fruit trees so I have left them alone (though they have only been in the ground for a year so I think that is okay.)  But I do find it incredibly satisfying to clean up my perennials like the hydrangea below.  In turn I removed dead wood, long-spent flowers, and old/mis-shapen canes to set the plant up for its growing season.  I imagine once I overcome my ignorance of fruit pruning and gain some experience, I will feel the same way about tending to my apples, pears, blueberries, and kiwis as I do these inedible plants.

 

Somehow the trim makes the yard look so much spiffier -- and that much readier for spring.

The warm weather is supposed to hold for tomorrow.  And with the help of a neighborhood teenager this afternoon, my soon-to-be-updated fruit bed is weed-free and ready for planting.  I am hoping to take advantage of tomorrow's weather (forecast says 60 degrees and sunny in Seattle) to get my blueberries and strawberries into the ground.  Since it is also predicted to start raining again on Tuesday, this is about as perfect as I could have dreamed.

Silliness

Today I did a bunch of shopping for supplies.  Hit four stores and still couldn't commit to buying half my list because I was unsure of my math. 

On the lighter side ... I ran into this silly video done by an area nursery.  It is their take on civil rights activist General Larry Platt's breakout performance on American Idol -- and it involves growing food.