It has been cold and blustery here. Snow, ice, below freezing temperatures. January in the northeast.
I like to spend this time of year perusing seed catalogs. The variety of flowers and vegetables is overwhelming, and I have long given up on trying too many new things. Now I stick to a few standard veggies - tomatoes, green beans, a couple of peppers and zucchini and herbs - basil, rosemary, sage and some catnip for the fur babies. I generally save my favorite tomato seeds from year to year but will buy a new seed variety now and then. But I like to look at the catalogs. It helps brighten up these dark cold days. Oh the possibilities.
I also harvest flower seeds every year for replanting my 25 deck flower boxes. I have just begun 4 flats of petunias.
There is something very calming and hopeful about playing in dirt in January and anticipating those first baby green shoots springing from the soil. All the worries of today falls away when a seed sprouts and reminds me that hope springs eternal.
It’s January. The days are cold but the light is already getting longer. And I am thinking about gardens.
My grandma used to plant
tomato seedlings in tin cans
from tomato sauce & puree &
crushed tomatoes she got from
the Italian restaurant by her
house, but she always soaked
the labels off first. I don't want
them to be anxious about the
future, she said. It's not healthy.
Brian Andreas
I'm always so impressed with your January gardening. And, seed saving is the ultimate in thriftiness and tenacity.
ReplyDeleteThis year I saved seeds from a butternut squash - here's hoping it produces well! Last year the bunnies at all my peas and I only got one delicata squash... some years are more productive than others.
Please post some pictures of those first seedlings!
I could never afford all the flowers I plant if they were nursery bought.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the squash! I plant pumpkins every year and get lots of vines and flowers but never any fruit. And I have had years where the chipmunks eat my bean plants as soon as they're an inch tall. I would starve if I had to seriously depend on my gardening skills : )
It's actually time to plant seeds in the garden here in Florida. Some of them anyway. I'll be planting Kale, Collards, Bok Choy, cukes tomorrow. I started a tomato plant or two from seed late in the fall and hope to put them in our very small veggie garden next month.
ReplyDeleteI am happy that our growing season is so short. I plant the garden in May and close it by mid-September. My body is glad for all those months rest.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised that kale does well in Florida. I always think of it as a cold weather plant. I've planted some that actually survived the winter months here and came back strong.
I love gardening a lot, and I love watching seeds and stems break through. But I'm nowhere as ambitious as you with all those petunias! I'm very impressed.
ReplyDeletelove kj
I'm dreaming of tomatoes. And pretty flowers.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ps salsa and pico de gallo too