Starting the Seeds

After explaining to my dd why mom was buying a huge shelf and moving her easel and the junk in the corner so that could be assembled, why mom was buying soil, and why we were cleaning the porch and setting up pots and planters in the freezing cold of February it was inevitable that she would want to plant seeds right now! Of course my seeds weren't here yet, I didn't have anything set up and the thought of mixing soil on a freezing blustery week vs. mixing it in my living room just to make her happy meant that we had lots of "talks" about patients and planning and the speed of the postal service. I finally made a trip to home depot to pick up more soil, a few seed packets, a few flats and plant markers and I spread out one of our waterproof mats and let K make multiple trips to the bathroom to fill her water canister so that she could water the soil pellets and watch them expand. This made her happy but it still wasn't enough.I only placed my seed orders last week and it was my own fault for introducing something before I was ready to have her involved in it but to a certain extent it was unavoidable as her curiosity would have led her to insist on answers only shortly after everything began to be set up.

Early this morning as she was about to start her whining to go somewhere and spend money on something to do we bundled up and headed outside with our garden gloves on to add soil to the 2 new self-watering planters and get them ready for the peas, leeks, spinach and kale. Next, inspired by this video from Finegardening.com , we emptied the existing soil from my terra cotta strawberry jar, drilled drain holes in 3 12" lengths of capped 1/2" PVC pipe and placed them back in the jar with the capped end down to encourage better water distribution so that this year I don't kill the herbs in the middle rows from lack of water. It felt good to get our gloves dirty

Later this morning the first half of my seeds arrived in the mail and as we walked to the mail room to go pick them up K's excitement grew. She couldn't wait to plant. First we pulled out the waterproof mat again and then I pulled down the smallest seed tray. She helped me open up the tops of the now fully expanded and moist soil disks and fluff up the top layer then she picked the seeds out of my hand and placed them in the designated spots. She did this so well, even the tiny thyme seeds. Lastly I placed the labels and moved the flat up to the dark shelf above her reach. Next we prepared the cheap strawberry all-in-one kit by filling the container with its baggie of soil and sprinkling the very few seeds that it came with. This went on the windowsill in front of the shelf. Now my herbs and strawberries are started and as soon as the rest of my seeds come I'll start the majority of my veggies indoors and a few of the cold hardy will go right into the planters. Were expecting snow showers over the next few days so it will probably be mid-week before anything more gets done.

Here is what I have ordered.
From Baker Creek Heritage Seeds:

• Painted Lady Runner Beans (out of stock)
• Blue Podded Peas (out of stock)
• Sugar Snap Peas
• State Half Runner Beans
• Red Mini Bell Peppers
• Sweet Yellow Stuffing Peppers (mini)
• Lemon Cucumber
• Yellow of Parma Onions
• Bleu of Solais Leeks
• Dwarf Siberian Kale
• Puple Russian Tomato
• Kabloona Calendulas
• Sensation Mix Cosmos
• Mexican Mint Marigolds (out of stock)
• Dearf Jewel Mix Nasturtiums
• Lilliput Mix Zennias

From Southern Exposure Seed Exchange:

• Sweet Genovese Basil
• Chives
• Long Standing Cilantro/Coriander
• Cumin
• Greek Oregano
• Summer Thyme
• Sage
• Jacob's Cattle (Trout) Bush Bean
• Small Garden Sampler Garlic Mix-For delivery in the fall
• Spring Mescalin Mix of 6 different lettuce/greens/spinach
• Summer Mescalin Mix of 5 different lettuce/greens

From Bountiful Gardens:

• Anasazi Bush Beans
• Good Mother Stalllard Beans
• Scarlet Emperor Bean
• Forono Beet
• Early Market Carrott
• Rainbow Mix Chard
• Tokinashi All Seasons Diakon Radish
• Orange Jelly Turnips
• Austrian Field Peas (for drying and green mulch)

Came with the Burpee Seed Starter Kit (haven't decided if I will grow these):

• Carnival Hybrid Mix Sweet Pepper
• Genovese Basil
• Blue Lake 47 Bush Bean
• Mediterranean Oregano
• Steak Sandwich Hybrid Tomato
• Fordhook Zucchini
• Straight Eight Cucumber
• Touchon Carrots

Came free with my Cooks Garden supply order:

• Sweet Salad Mix Mesclun

And a stray Ferry Morse packet of Evergreen Bunching Onion picked up at Home Depot