Starting More Plants

Since the only thing in the garden is mud right now I decided to start more plants inside today. The tomatoes, peppers, onions, leeks and celery that I started on the 9th are all doing very well. Many of the tomatoes are getting their second set or what some call their first real set of leaves.

Today I used up the rest of my peat pellets. The toilet paper rolls are ok but seem to have a bit of white mold on them. I'm not sure how the mold will effect the plants so I'm not going to start any more in tp tubes this year to make sure the plants started in them do well until transplanting into the garden.

The plants started today were broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage, green cabbage, kale, swiss chard, spinach, 6 different types of lettuce, more copra onions and red onions. I need to buy more starter trays before I can do my herbs. They really don't need to be started until the beginning of April anyway. I also need to start another tray or 2 each of copra onions, red onions, and leeks so each of the beds for these onions will be full.

I tried tilling the garden last week just enough to get in the garlic and maybe some peas... but a belt broke. I'm not sure if it was because the soil was still too wet or if a little mouse decided to chew on the belt this winter while the tiller was being stored in the garage. Phil will be looking at it and getting it fixed ASAP. There are many things I'd like to get started in the garden the first week of April.

Sprouting and Syruping

I was excited to discover that many of the leeks have started to sprout, even the ones planted in the toilet paper tubes! Many of the tomatoes are poking through the dirt and hopefully sometime over the next few days we'll see the pepper plants starting. I will need to start more onions, tomatoes, and peppers on Monday. I also need to start the broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage. If I have enough peat pellets left I will probably start some lettuce & spinach too.

We tapped 16 Maple trees yesterday and today. So far we have only gathered about 10 gallons of sap which will yield around a quart of syrup. We will gather tomorrow twice then start cooking it down on Monday.

If want to read a funny story about two of our children who were trapped in the garden today stop by our family blog: The Adventures of the Reese's Pieces Gang

Starting Plants

I started some of my plants on March 9th. This year I'm using peat pellets, toilet paper rolls cut in thirds and filled with soil, and reusable plastic planters.

On March 9th I started Cosmonaut Volkov Tomates, Gardener's Delight Cherry Tomatoes, Amish Paste Tomatoes, New Ace Peppers, Early Jalapeno Hot Peppers, Copra Onion, and Golden Self-Blanching Celery in Peat pellets. I also started 55 leeks, and more of the Cosmonaut & Cherry Tomatoes in toilet paper rolls filled with store bought potting soil.

I am using the book The Midwest Fruit and Vegetable Book, Wisconsin Edition as a guide to help me figure out when to start my plants indoor. I do not have a green house so Phil and I have come up with a way to put a temporary one in the garden with very little expense. I will be using my tomato trellis's by putting two tomato beds together. Each bed is 3' X 18' with a foot between. We will stretch the plastic over the trellises and secure it to the ground with wood or rocks. The sides will be closed using clothes pins. On cooler nights we will put a space heater under the plastic so the little plants will stay warm enough. Once we get it up I will take a picture and post it. I hope that by putting my plants in the “greenhouse” by the beginning of April that they will not be as spindly as they were last year when I grew them in front of a window until it was time to harden them up for transplanting.