PRESIDENT’S DAY WEEKEND ALREADY?

The year is flying by, and what was anticipated to be a busy spring with the 30 X 72 hoophouse build has gotten even busier. I admit feeling a bit daunted by the current state of the garden with the unassembled greenhouse parts, but the snow will eventually melt, the ground will defrost, and the day will come when the frozen ground cloth fabric can be lifted from the surface. The hope and plan, God willing, is to have the construction completed before May 1 rolls around.

Between now and then, I will continue to grow and care for the potted tabletop gardens for our customers and Town and Country Foods, start seeds, prep for spring, tweak the garden plan, and do life.

Perennial Seed Starts

Seed starting activities so far have focused on perennials, including these:

• Yarrow, “The Pearl,’ ( comparable in bouquet function to Baby’s Breath)
• Delphinium Excaliber Mix (new to me)
• Foxglove Dalmation Mix (perennial that blooms first year if planted early)
• Foxglove Dalmation Apricot (second time planting this one)
• Foxglove Obscura Sunset (perennial that blooms first year if planted early)
• Daisy “Crazy Daisy” (a fun double daisy)
• Monarda Punctata (new to me)
• Monarda Lombada (a replant)
• Rudbeckia triloba (a replant)
• Iceland Poppies- Pastel Meadows (need more of these!!)
• Rose Mint Agastache (new to me)
• Rose Rhapsody Salvia (new to me)
• Salvia Swan Lake (new to me)
• Sage Broad Leaf (for the herb garden and perhaps cutting)

If germination and growth goes well etc, I may have extra plants to sell/barter. Then again, if things go like last year, just the right amount will die, and there will be only enough for the allotted space. lol. I kid you not. That has happened for 2 years in a row now.

soil Blocking

One of the ways I am able start this many seedlings in limited space is through the use of soil blocks. On the bottom two shelves in the picture below there are 800 seedlings on the colorful trays, and the shelves are not even full. Each colorful tray (purchased at The Dollar Tree last year) has 80 3/4” soil blocks on it, so potentially 80 seedlings.They are covered with plastic wrap to keep in moisture during germination, otherwise they would dry out rather quickly. As soon as germination is detected, I remove the plastic.

I have had my small soil blocker for years, using it with varying degrees of success. I tried it again last year and bombed. I attributed it to the (disfunctional) soil used, and determined to try it again. This time I followed the soil blocking recipe found at The Gardeners Workshop. So far, I am pleased with the results— I started all the basil, pansies, and dusty miller using soil blocks this year, and so far all are doing very well. As these newly seeded perennials grow, I will bump them up in to 50 cell trays. I might also purchase a larger soil blocker, the 1.5” or the 2”, and go that route. For more info on soil blocking, The Gardeners Workshop had lots of info and supplies, as does Johnny’s Seeds. (These are just referrals because I like the products and process- I do not get referral credits or bonuses for these links.)

sweet peas

The last items sowed today before the weekend are the sweet peas. They are now in the garage where they should germinate over the next few weeks. I am growing one new variety, “Enchante”, and the rest are repeats for a total of 6 varieties. There are some other colors I wanted to grow, but with everything else going on this year, I opted to keep it to the saved seed and just one new purchase.

• Enchante
• Nimbus
• Noel Sutton
• Raspberry Twirl
• April in Paris
• Erewhon

I start them in these 5 inch deep 50 cell trays that allow for good deep root development. I will pinch them back when there are 4 sets of leaves to allow for more branching at the base and plant them out in early May most likely.

the onion family

The next seeds on the sowing schedule are all in the onion family.

• Talon Yellow Storage Onion (these get big and store great!)
• Rossa Di Milano Red Storage Onion (I love these)
• Evergreen Hardy White Scallion (because they should come back next year?)
• Ed's Red Shallot (from my saved seed as this variety is near impossible to find)
• King Sieg Leek (because they are yummy and overwinter).

These will be sowed in 72 cell trays close to but no later than March 1. I used to sow them in clumps of 4-6 seeds and plant them out allotting one square foot per clump, but they don’t spread as nicely here in the Dillon clay as they do in upstate NY soil. So I will be planting them as singles, but much closer together to get the same yield per square foot. Allium crops do great here, so if you like them, be sure to grow them if you are inclined that way and get your seeds ASAP. Starting them from seed is the way to go— cheaper than onion sets and successful. My 2022 crop is holding up very well in the pantry with more than enough to get us through spring.

In addition to the greenhouse build in April, we had another oppportunity come in to us for that same month. It so exciting we could not turn it down, even with the need to get the greenhouse completed. I will share more on that next month because this newsletter is more than long enough.

Until next time-
Elizabeth