Gardening 2022 Season Begins!

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Actually, gardening season began about a few months ago. Planning is an important first step. I start with last year's plan, and try to rotate everything around so it's not in the same bed it's been in either of the past two years. And then I assess what I can grow outside the vegetable garden. Lately, it seems I can now grow all my squash in the ground, and not in my precious fenced-in garden space! After a couple iterations, this is where I'm at.

The plan gives an idea of what seeds I need. At this point, I assess what seeds I have, what seeds I want, and what seeds I'd like to give away to others. This way I can purchase the seeds I want before planting begins (in February!). I've also updated my refridgerator seed storage container to be this rectangular plastic air-tight box from Target. I wanted the big glass jars to hold dried beans in the redone kitchen, and this container works even better as it fits all my seeds and the top is flat with a ridge so it can be used as a little shelf.

The planting always starts with winter sowing on one of the handful of warm days in February, with the goal of having the seeds go through a bit of a cold period. Not everything needs the cold stratification, but poppies, purpletop verbena, and foxglove do...and the rest of the cold-hardier vegetables don't mind a bit of winter when tucked snuggly into their mini greenhouses.

2/27/2022
A few weeks later and we're indoor seed starting, onions first, followed by kale, kohlrabi, spinach, arugula, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

3/11/2022
This year, I decided to indoor start some Cascadia and Sugar Magnolia snap peas indoors using homemade toilet paper roll plant pots. It's fairly self explanatory, but Lady Lee's Home wrote up some nice instructions. I do find that the rolls tend to fall apart rather easily with water exposure, so it's good to have a tall walled tray for them to contain them. I'm holding onto the rest of my improvised pots for when I need to "pot up" the seeds I just started. The seedlings need to be repotted a couple times before going out in the garden, so that they get nutrients replenished (more, new soil!). Peas don't like to be transplanted, so I've plunked them directly into the toilet roll pots to minimize disurbances.

3/21/2022
It's so nice to be able to stick my hands in soil after a few months of winter! Looking forward to much more greenery!

3/21/2022