March 21st, 2017

March can be a discouraging month here. Sometimes we wil get several glorious warm days and the snow begins to melt. Then suddenly it turns bitter cold and we get some of the worst stroms of the season! 

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                                                  Snow pile outside my greenhouse door!

Every year I find myself worrying that the snow will never melt and there will be no spring at all. But it always does melt and spring arrives at last.
Today was one of those lovely days when the sun shone so bright and warm, I wished I could work in the gardens, but thjey are still buried under a couple feet of snow, and tomorrow it will be wintry again. 

The dent in the snow is my birdbath!

Right now is seed starting time and I already havea few trays of seedlings. Bianco Di Maggio and Yellow of Parma onions, heliotrope and heartsease were all planted on the 22nd of February. Never having grown heliotrope before, I read that it takes 4-6weeks to germinate. So imagine my surprise when they sprouted in only a few days! 

Heartsease

On March 10th, I planted Ajvarski, Mehmet's Sweet Turkish, Bull Nose, and Hot Hungarian Wax peppers. Because it was very cold at the time and therefore chilly in the house, I laid the trays of peat pellets on top of our pellet stove and it worked very well. They started to come up in just 4 days. 
Black Krim, Hungarian Heart, and Pantano Romanesco tomatoes were planted on the 16th and Appleblossom snapdragons on the 17th. About half of the tomatoes are up today and a few tiny snapdragons are appearing also. 

​Tomato seedlings

A snapdragon seed is about the size of a fleck of black pepper and it amazes me that a 3 foot tall plant grows from a seed so tiny! I think it is more mind-boggling than an oak tree growing from an acorn! 
I have so many more seeds to start soon, but first I'll have to make more room for them in the house where they spend the nights and snowy days. I have a small unheated greenhouse where they stay when it's warm and sunny enough. Getting to the greenhouse is rather treacherous right now, with all the snow and ice. 

Inside the greenhouse...notice the snow outside!

When the temperature is above freezing I haul the seedlings back and forth from the house to the greenhouse with a sled. Otherwise I make several trips, carrying one tray at a time. I also have a wagon which is a big help when the snow is gone. 

This only works when it's above freezing. Even so, I've covered the peppers to be safe.

My wagon hauling plants last May