Terra Mama

Sigh, a sigh of joy, for all the seedlings I planted during the new moon in March are doing so well!

The tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant are thriving, although most of the peppers and all the eggplant took their sweet time to come out.

All of my annual flowers are reaching towards the sun, and this season's biggest seed challenge, perennial delphiniums, have also finally emerged. I was worried about those, they are tricky germinators that need to be kept in a cool (60-65 degrees), dark place in order to sprout. Luckily, the northeast corner of our bedroom is just such a place. It is the one room in our house that doesn't get blasted by the woodstove, and the delphiniums broke ground about 13 days after I planted them. Let me tell you, I am totally psyched about those plants and I hope they make it through the whole summer and into the next.

Look at these dang onions. I mean, really, I've never had my onions look so good so early and I credit it all to that Mother Earth News article recommending starting the sets in 6-pack cells. Hunter and I transplanted this group of 90 on the second day of April's full moon and despite our lack of rain, they are doing well. Naturally, we've been at them with the hose.

And to the left of them there, are my spinach seedlings just starting to come up. I planted those 10 days ago and they are almost all up. I rolled out a row of my black landscape fabric, cut 2 inch circles in a grid separating the circles by about 6 inches, and planted 1 or 2 seeds per circle. Again, trying really hard to minimize my weeding this summer. 

My peas are doing great, about 3 inches tall and happy. I only lost 2 or 3 during the past few weeks they've been in the ground. Nice.

I planted some Envy Chartreuse zinnias that sprouted in about 2 days as did all my marigolds. Also going in cells today are State Fair zinnias, nasturtium, mignonette, along with Resina calendula and Valerian for the medicinal herb garden. 

I am so totally psyched right now. The weather is pretty nice, it's fighting between rainstorm and sun. Really rooting for the clouds today because Connecticut's been dry.

Oh, and look at my asparagus!! Eating those babies next week.

And leaving this post with a song that's been in my head all week, the result of finally going to see a Further show. Oh yeah, more on that later….

  Other One 5-26-73

So, this year, as I have the past 2, I've started my sugar snap pea seed in a plastic dish, sandwiched between moist paper towels. They sprout within a few days and then I transplant them into the garden. This year, Patrick and I are working with landscape fabric to keep our never-ending weed sitch at bay. I simply can't handle a fourth summer weeding EVERY day. Hence the landscape fabric, and we started it with the pea patch.

Ok, we got the rototiller out, fired her up, and tilled about a 3 foot wide patch for the peas. It's at the eastern edge of the veg garden, beside a row of renegade celery that never stalked last year–my first effort at the tricky vegetable–but somehow survived the winter (more on that later). On top of this earth, we rolled out 2 rows of the landscape fabric. 

We dragged our homemade pea trellis, old woven wire fencing and tomato stakes set up tipi style, and hammered it into the ground through the fabric. Tacked down the edges of the fabric with 3 inch metal stakes.

The next afternoon while Isla was taking a Thank-God 2 hour nap, I cut individual holes in the fabric all along the bottom of the wire trellis and yes, planted a sprouted pea in each little hole. No joke. I filled the hole with potting soil so each pea has some protection and watered every hole. No one has ever taken such pains with peas ever before. And they're not even my favorite thing to eat. Oh well, I am a true gardener at heart and I had to try this out. The entire time I was out there on this 80 degree Thursday in late March, I couldn't get this Tom Waits song out of my head:

Way Down in the Hole

This is how the little seedlings look 3 days later:

After I finished this task, I broke a 10 day alcohol fast with a delicious cocktail–an ounce and a half of Finlandia vodka, a half ounce of Peachtree schnapps, finished with Ginger Ale over ice. 

Slamming.

OK, round 3 of my early spring plantings for the greenhouse and mid-May transplants include:  TOMATOES!!

I sowed 6 Opalka paste, 6 Orange paste, 6 Sun Gold cherry (summer isn't summer without Sun Golds), 3 Green Zebra, 3 Pineapple, 3 Purple Krim, 3 Brandywine, 3 Pink Ox Heart, and 3 Cour Di Bue.

Yes.

All in 6-packs, all in the greenhouse, brought indoors on the colder nights.

And I finally got my backorder CT yankee Mix Delphinium seeds from Fedco. Yeah baby. Planted 48 of those yesterday and keeping them in the cool to germinate.

Oh mama, get her done.

Here are the onion sets I planted in 9 packs that will be transferred to the garden once they lush out green on top. 

Ok, killing it here with the crazy warm weather and the early planting.

Today I sowed 36 different peppers: Early jalapenos, Relleno Ancho, Chocolate sweet, Lynx hybrid, and a mix of random hots. 

I got my Rosa Bianca and Rhapsody eggplants in, along with the Italian flat leaf parsley.

My spicy smelling Chabaud La France carnation is in soil after the seed sat in the freezer for a week.  

All of these new plantings will come inside at night until late April. 

I planted all my onion sets in 6 pack plastic cells, something I've never done before, but got the idea from a past issue of Mother Earth News. If, for whatever crazy reason, we get a freak hard freeze, I'll be able to bring them inside.

My sugarsnap peas are nestled between warm damp paper towels in a plastic plate. I've taken to sprouting them inside and then planting them out since they are picky germinators. it works pretty well.

Next, the spinach and maybe some more lettuce….

Glorious day–glorious week–here in Connecticut. 

Planted 17 Oriental lilies and 1 pink Tiffany rose. 

Sowed 54 Oriental poppies, both purple and white, 12 cells of cumin, and 12 cells of Marine heliotrope. Also a shallow wooden crate full of Winter Marvel lettuce.

Not bad for March 15th.

So, on the coldest day of this winter, I am gazing at my recently arrived Fedco seed order. Super stoked, I got Gustus Brussels sprouts, Maxibel organic haricots verts, a Deluxe Summer lettuce mix, and Snow Mystique cauliflower. Pat wanted red kidney beans and I have cannellini from last year. Tyee spinach that I'll plant right after  St. Patrick's Day, and Sugarsnap peas, that will go into the ground a week or 2 after that. My new winter squash is called Candy Roaster, I mean come on, how can that not be good? I got the striped Pineapple heirloom and Green Zebra tomatoes for sheer beauty, and also the heirloom Cocozelle zucchini. My Red cored Chantenay carrots did well last year and I have some of that seed left, I also got Scarlet Nantes to help break up my clayey soil and give me a second variety of carrot. 

I am super excited for my fragrance seeds; I love scent, it is the strongest nostalgia trigger (and Lord knows I am a sucker for nostalgia), and walking through parts of the garden while sniffing memories thrills me. Really. So, I ordered Marine Heliotrope, Tangerine Gem Marigold–this will also help kill off whiteflies and harmful nematodes, and Mignonette, which I'm not familiar with but is supposed to have this antique, Victorian strong scent. Of course, I got nasturtium and French marigold as well to combat pests and aid in vegetable pollination and growth. Companion planting is where it's at.

I got 2 additions for my medicinal herb garden, too: Valerian and Arnica Chamissonis, both perennials. When we bought the property, I spent a spring digging up an old flower bed overgrown with weeds and bought seeds like feverfew, echinacea, horehound, yarrow, blue vervain, lemon balm, and comfrey root to begin our homeopathic herb garden. I am happy to say that they all survived and are now thriving. I have not made any medicine from them yet, but once I research this area, I will. Anything to keep from giving the pharmaceutical companies more money. And hey, don't get me wrong, I am all for necessary medicines like antibiotics, pain killers, and my kids are definitely vaccinated. I just get depressed when I see ads on tv regarding women who took some type of anti-depressant or mood stabilizer while pregnant and now have children with birth defects. Maybe there's a more natural way to balance out one's chemistry without the wicked side effects of heavy prescriptions, you know?

Anyhoo,http://www.fedcoseeds.com  is my favorite seed co-op for selection, prices, and honestly produced and collected seed. They also sell supplies and books, all pertaining to the organic and self-sustaining garden.

The Brussels sprouts, they are mort.

So is the arugula and the last of my carrots. Well, some of the carrots are hanging on but they are pathetic, stubby Parisian chumpers hardly worth the time it takes to clean, peel, and cut out all the little worm holes and extra off-shoot roots. I leave them for my son to dig up and throw at the chickens. They rush the little roots in an attempt, but then give up. Those little orange nuggets are way too hard for the birds to peck through. And let's face it, our hens are spoiled girls used to eating panettone and leftover cookies during the holidays, not some feeble cold old carrots Hunter chucks at them like ping pong balls.

But gosh darn those Brussels sprouts. They are the family favorite for fall vegetables for not only their delicious nutty flavor after being caramelized in oil and balsamic vinegar, but for their awesomeness at hanging on through frost after frost until there is nothing left on their stalks but the pale bluish green leaves, now whitened with cold.

The arugula will be back in spring, she is a hearty wench.