Well, I did get SOMETHING done this week! I planted the first tray of 72 peat pots. I’m behind schedule right now. I have another tray of seeds to plant. In the near future, I have to get a roto-tiller and till the garden beds. It’s still too cool to set plants out. Last year I jumped the gun and planted seeds (I’ve always done direct planting before this year) April 25th. We had two frosts about that time, but everything made it. This year, I don’t think I’ll risk it. It’s very cool yet and Upstate New York is still full of surprises. Snow is even forecast for this evening.
Well, here’s what I did. I bought the little peat pucks (as I call them). They are dried up and shriveled and look just like checkers. With the addition of water, they swell up. Once they are moist, seeds can be planted. The instructions say to plant the seeds twice as deep as the length of the seeds themselves.
I planted the pansies first. Those are mighty tiny seeds, almost as small as weight loss pills, wouldn’t you say?
But then I opened the nicotania packet, and WHOA! Those are tiny seeds! I couldn’t even handle them. I couldn’t “plant” such tiny seeds, it was more like “sprinkling” them. We’ll see how they turn out. Hmm.
I needed something larger. My hands were killing me by this point. Ahhh good ole New England pumpkin seeds! Much better.
I also planted cantaloupe. And that’s all I did! Next up will be the yellow squash, basil, cauliflower, and Marigolds.
April 12, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I started Lavender with the peaties this year. I had to just put a pinch on each because the seeds were so small. I am jealous of a rototiller. I have been doing everything by hand and my back hurts every night. LOL
April 12, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Ouch. I cultivated the beds by hand for a few years. It was bad for my back, ow. we rent a rototiller. They are not terribly expensive. Or you can try and borrow one!
April 13, 2008 at 11:29 am
Mrs. Mecomber – I have been away for a few days and WOW your blog looks great!! Congratulations on prevailing through the switchover issues. Good job! I’m so glad all your great graphics are back. Yours is one of my very favorite blogs.
April 13, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Bonnie– thank you so much! It’s been a ton of work. I’ve had to slowly rebuild everything. I noticed you were “away” as I kept checking your blog for new posts and hadn’t seen any.
Now that you are back, I am eager to read more of your stuff. I also forgot to add your blog to my blogroll last night! I’m sorry– I had it on my previous template but lost the information and have had to remember how everything was before. Ugh! I’m on it right now. Your blog is one of my favorites!
April 14, 2008 at 7:07 am
I’m growing my calamansi and chillies over here for the first time. Haven’t started on it. But I would like to try. Any tips for citrus?
I want to grow some basil but can’t seem to find any seeds in the shop. Got some coriander instead. Probably get a pot of basil and nip some rosemary from our neighbour’s bush?!
April 14, 2008 at 8:34 am
Citrus?! I live in Upstate NY. The only citrus I ever see is in yellow cartons in the juice aisle.
I found basil seeds online, and Johnny’s Selected Seeds. They have a lot of variety, I’ve found. They are a little pricier than most seed stores, and I’ve noticed that unless you get the bulk of your stuff in January/February, the commercial growers scoop everything up and it’s out of stock. Hope that helps!
April 15, 2008 at 10:09 am
Thanks for the tip about basil I probably have to get the plant. Too lazy to wait for basil to grow to a useful size!