4/7: Lots of growing going on! Seedlings are popping up and getting transplanted on schedule. A lot of peppers, some flowers and herbs. Tomatoes are just starting to really pop. The toothache plants are stunning- I might actually need to do another potting up before they can go outside they are getting so big. And that's a good thing, I want a big healthy crop this year since last years failed and we are now out of it. I'd like to get a double crop actually, and plan another regular seed round in the next seed starting round. And this one is one of the biggies because there's all those bedding flowers and brassicas to start up.
The rounds of garlic sprouts I've been doing since December have been awesome. Every couple weeks I start a bin, and at this point I start a new one when I pull an old one. I really do need to get out on the back 40 and figure out where I'm going to plunk in the mother beds back there. I got a few bushes and trees to move soon too that are still in the greenhouse right now.
And lol, I really need to check on the greenhouse.. herm... Been rather too busy for the last few days with some family stuff. There are some changes going on.
Anywho, it's almost getting warm enough with overnight temps that I can move the asparagus out to the greenhouse- and I still have all 60 of them that I originally seeded. Using the rock wool cubes was rather nice for this, but kind of overkill in a lot of ways. Much more useful for just cuttings. Potted up another 15 yellow mum cuttings today too, just a few more left in their cubes. The mother mum is in the midst of it's current bloom flush, and it is rather lovely. Almost time to start deadheading again. The first round of coral mum cuttings is still chugging along, and almost time to take another round of these and the first round of white cuttings. My one little cutting tip of the glorious huge rust coleus has seemed to survived the cutting and is actually sprouting up a bit! Still no roots sticking out, but hey, I'll take it.
All of the scented pelargonium made it through the winter- and all the spring cuttings I took are doing rather well in the low light levels of Eastern exposure in the office. The lemon and lime trees are getting weirdly grown out, and I think I might need to get some expert pruning advice. The strange Rex Begonia? monster plant is still limping along, poor thing.
On the grow schedule... December is finally closed out- everything has either died back or moved on, like the toothache plant. Still a lot of open January plantings- most of these needed the cold strat in the solarium, and a lot has not popped yet, mostly various berry and some of the heartier flowers. The columbine has really done well- and the double furl blue extra well so far. Super excited about that. February is closed out, all seeds either null or moved on. March is still wide open, and April starts up tomorrow.
In some exciting house news.. finally able to call in a well service and got an appointment set up! After so long of not having the "just in case" amount of funds saved up.. and after last summers attempt to get someone in and getting blown off twice... it's time to move on from trying with the really local guy. I hit a big local company up this time that has all it's license and insurance going on, and early. I had hoped to have that one done last summer and off the list, but I think I started too late in the season. But now we can afford to call in the big guys.. a difference a few months can make in life around here, lol. The well stuff really had to come first- the plumbing guys kind of didn't want to tinker around with much before that was done, understandably enough. After the well stuff is settled, we will be able to get to some other plumbing needs, yay!! We got some other stuff on the slate for this year too.. but with some of the recent news about some of the changes and coming around here.. being cautious with what comes next.
4/16: Was out of town on a conference most of the week. Gov training stuff- it was mind blowing, overwhelming, underwhelming, informative, interesting, boring, educational, chock full of a lot of stuff.. and wow, I was glad to be home, lol. Had an adventure drive on the way home, took a lot of side highways and byways twisting around through the small lakes region, and that was very cool.
Glorious day Friday, did a lot of puttering around and catching up.. stuff sprouted and moved things indoors to greenhouse or solarium, solarium to greenhouse or outside, and greenhouse to outside sorts of things. The greenhouse has been standing up outstandingly well, despite a few nasty weather spells. Had to cut in a few drainage holes in plastic here and there to release water.. but then most of that drip off water has been keeping the greenhouse moist enough that we haven't been needing to water inside the greenhouse except a couple trays of small pots up on racks.
Daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, some spring blooming trees, forsythias, and the NY-9 plum are in full bloom. The magnolia was in full juicy fuzzy bud when I got home on Thursday afternoon.. today the whole tree is in full popping out, it's open flush will start in a day or two. Mild winter and spring indeed- this flush happened first weekend in May of 2013. Aquilegia, snapdragons, lilac, and lillies are all sprouting up in the FOH garden. Spring chives were flush enough to make 4 pounds of chive butter for the freezer- I snagged on the back and hill segments over the winter, so those were a bit sorrier and older, but the spring flush in the very front yard was plush as hell.
The Japanese Maple I rescued for a few bucks last summer from work in now a super plush happy tree worth a few times more than what I bought it for. It went from a sad double overseason in a one gallon pot languishing amongst a sea of other "nursery" plants on the back skids. Now it's a healthy 4 gallon pot tree ready to grow till 2018 spring before I need to repot or put into the ground. I gave it grow last summer when I repotted it to it's current pot, and sheltered it from solarium overwinter to greenhouse a few weeks ago. It will be a couple weeks yet till I harden it off from the greenhouse so it can be moved to the front porch area for the summer. It needs a little trimming to bonsai it up a bit to keep it container form. I'm still not sure where it will be going once 2019 comes and I put it into the ground. I know it will go somewhere into the very front yard, just not sure where yet.. Depends on how this years stuff goes, lol..
And on that.. The Prince Holly suffered during the winter. On the wrong corner of the greenhouse and not enough water led to a lot of dieback. He's in a bucket on the greenhouse porch now to be a bit more protected and watered for a bit like his Princess is. But both the hollies will be getting planted in down on the easement drive side of the south segment of the far front. I have pots of daffodil and other bulbs to work into the front border- and been taking tons of mum cuttings. I have enough yellow mums, and probably enough coral. I just started taking white cuttings off those overwintered mothers.
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