Coldframe Necessity
I’m sitting here staring at the Earthworm Moon out my window and it is beautiful. Cirrus clouds are floating past producing a lunar halo. Interestingly this effect generated the old adage: “A ring around the sun or moon means rain or snow are coming soon.”
Seeing as there is a skiff of snow outside and the temperature is supposed to plummet those hexagonal ice particles, bending light at the perfect 22 degree angle to form a 44 degree in diameter halo, are predicting snow. As is my weather app.
Therefore I predict this week will mean less outdoor work and more inside seed sowing.
Fortunately I got the compost bays moved to their new home in the nice weather and the chickens have had a ball scratching through everything which means less work turning it for me.
I had some time yesterday and planted 16 Empress of India Nasturtium, 8 Mexican Sour Gherkins and 6 Black Beauty Eggplant seeds.
Josh’s tomatoes germinated beautifully and he’s very excited to see them grow.
I also pruned the Calamondin Orange tree and put the softwood cuttings in water to hopefully root.
This week will be the start of the large scale tomato planting. Peppers from a couple weeks ago are starting to get their first true leaves so they will be able to be potted up soon and I’ll wash the seed starting trays and start all over again with the tomatoes.
As did happen last year we are running out of space. I really don’t know how it happened. We have 2 large shelves this year we didn't have last year, though possibly a great deal more peppers, and earlier. Oh well, we will adapt and learn and grow.
If I pot up some of the Spanish Padrons and Black Hungarians in these big 14 inch pots I bought then I will have bigger pots for the medium sized peppers, which will open up some medium pots for the smaller peppers, only to be used almost immediately by the tomatoes.
It’s getting wild and it’s only April!
I am building some cold frames with some old windows I scrounged which should help with the hardening off stage and getting some of my early brassicas outside sooner.
Because we’ve gone back to cold weather I’m not sure if the daffodils will bloom this week. That puts a hold on anything plant-while-daffodils-are-blooming related. So the daikon, chard and rhubarb seeds I didn’t get in the ground yet for the crocuses blooming and the beets for the daffodils will have to wait until next week thaws us back out.
This gives me the time to do my writeups for each of the seeds sown so far. Probably should have been done sooner, especially the peppers, but there are only so many hours in the day my friends. And naps are necessary to maintain sanity. As are wanders about the garden, turkey corralling, chicken conversations and random bunny encounters.
Enjoy your seed planting!
