For most people, March Madness means college basketball playoffs. I'm not a big basketball fan (baseball is my game) so instead of being glued to the TV or radio, I am in the cellar planting things, or out buying things to plant. At this time of year, that is mostly seeds, though a few other packaged plant parts have found their way home with me.
Backing up though, let's look at the plant starting area in the cellar just about 3 weeks ago, which was toward the end of February. Below are the plants I repotted, trimmed and wintered over under lights last fall. Not looking too bad, we've had some losses, but overall in pretty decent shape. I have some cuttings to pot up too.
BTW, the bottom plants are standing on stacks of nursery lugs, those plastic mesh trays that you bring plants home in. About half of those were either tossed in the old open dump we used to have in our area (my dad always referred to those dumps as 'country stores') or were donated to me by friends. I use a lot of them in the cold frame because they drain well, and indoors because they help to stiffen up the bottoms of the cheaper solid trays, which tend to crack over time. I don't toss anything out that might prove useful. Here they are getting the shorter plants closer to the lights so that I don't have to keep adjusting the chains. I am a make-do person by nature. *s*
These plants below were my early tomatoes along with a flat of onions in a photo taken on the same day. As you can see, the tomato seedlings don't have their true leaves yet. There are more tomato plants up than I will need, so I will take the best one of each variety and share the rest. If you haven't noticed, I use a lot of recycled containers to start my seeds in. The tomatoes are growing in pudding cups and the onions are in the cut down bottom of a fabric softener bottle. All have holes drilled into them for drainage, which is an absolute necessity if you want healthy roots. I use a lot of the plastic from the flat sides of those opaque bottles cut up as plant labels - a laundry marker or Sharpie writes very well on them. The pudding cups are labeled with masking tape, which can be peeled off later, so they can be reused. They last several seasons that way. The larger plants will be shifted to yogurt cups, which hold more soil. Been recycling containers like that for years, long before the 'green' revolution. Not only is it more environmentally friendly, but economical too as it saves me a fortune in pots! And if I give plants away and don't get them back - well there are more waiting to be used. They do break down over a few years in the sun and weather, and crumble up to nothing, and then they can go in the garbage. Yeah, I always was ahead of my time... LOL
These are nice solid looking babies too. They should make plenty of healthy eyes. At planting time you look the potatoes over and decide where the best eye clusters are, and then divide the potato up with a knife. You want at least one bigger clump or two small eyes each, and a good hunk of the flesh of the potato, which feeds them until they root out. If the potatoes haven't sprouted by the time I am ready to plant, I expose them to a little light or sun and that usually gets them going. I like to cut them earlier in the day and lay them out in the plastic lugs so that the cut part dries a bit. Makes for a healthier start.
More onions below, most of them just breaking the soil in little green hoops. The black things on top of some of the seedlings that have straightened up is the seed coat. The onion seedlings will stay in these containers until they get planted out. They are not at all hard to separate once they get some size to the stems, the roots can be gently pulled apart. That white container in the back is a salvaged meat tray from bulk hamburger I bought at a warehouse club. It's been used for about 3 seasons now. See the labels? Cut from a detergent bottle.
Yeah even more onions below. I planted three different kinds of regular onions, white and yellow Spanish and a red onion that is supposed to be a good keeper. I also planted some perennial scallions, the kind that come up every year and spread in clumps. We love onions and use a lot of them. Some of these will get put into beds of their own, some tucked amongst other plants or around the edge of beds. The scallions will likely get tucked into garden corners where the tiller doesn't reach and flower beds because they do have nice bluish green foliage and white flowers the bees love.
Those green and tan trays and clear domes you see are Perma-Nest brand and I highly recommend them. They are sold to the nursery trade and are not inexpensive, but they are very rugged and durable, and don't rot or shatter easily, and they can be washed and sterilized. They have a couple channels in the base that help take excess water away from the bottoms of the pots. I have been buying a few each year, replacing my worn out, cheapo flimsy, black plastic trays. These I can lift full of plants and not have them collapse. The humidity domes let light in and keep the moisture from evaporating, so that the seeds and seedlings don't dry out - which can happen fast when you have your plants on a soil heating cable not too far from a woodstove that runs 8-12 hours a day. You just have to check them periodically for trapped moisture, which can cause mold and other problems, and open them up to let some fresh air in.
Oh, and the 'soil' surface you see is fine milled vermiculite, which you can buy in garden centers. The real soil is underneath that layer. I place the seeds on the soil and sift vermiculite over the top of it all, and wet it down. Unlike soil, vermiculite doesn't crust, but it holds moisture well. It also keeps the seedling contact with the actual soil minimal to help control fungal diseases like 'damping off' which causes stems to rot at the soil line so that the seedling collapses and dies. I mix my own custom seed starting soil too. I have this thing down to a science. *s* Any planted container of soil that doesn't grow has its soil added to the potting mix I use for older plants. You have a few every year, and you'd be surprised how that adds up.
Anyway, while gardening is foremost on my mind at the end of winter, I still get to do other things. It is birthday season, and we've had three of them so far. Lee was the last of the three and he and I went out for the day. We saw a gallery show of old pulp magazine cover art at a local college (UCONN - Go Huskies!). We got some really good exercise in the sunny but fresh and chilly 48°F air walking cross campus to and from the museum and the parking garage, as well as all around the museum, which has stairs. On the way back, we stopped at a local grocery chain and found Lee a lovely sugar free chocolate cream pie to celebrate with, and a sinful chocolate filled chocolate bundt cake for the others here, who don't have blood sugar issues. Put those safely away in the car, and drove on to have an early dinner together at a local restaurant. After eating, we hit the thrift shop across the street, and got a bit more walking in. Not great pickings on a Friday, but here are the things that came home with me...
The sign says it all! I will make something with the curtain rings, they are very much like the cabone rings we use for crochet. The book looks interesting, I love anything about the fairy world.
Another day, another very different outing. Mostly a top-of-the-month shopping trip for stock-up grocery items. But of course we had to stop somewhere fun to shop too! At this time of year, I can't stay out of the garden department. Got lucky at Wally World and found seed potatoes for one of our favorites at a reasonable price. Yes I know they are cheaper at the supermarket, but just because they say Yukon Gold doesn't mean they aren't some other generic gold variety with inferior taste and texture. I can tell the difference. I have noticed a trend on the Yukon Gold potatoes on sale, that there will often be a certain percentage of plain white potatoes in the bag, which are from cheaper stock and explains the bargain price. And then by planting potatoes I bought to eat, I could be introducing a disease from another grower's patch. Nope, I'll get the real thing, and hope to get 40-50 lbs from them, depending on whether we dig new potatoes or not. I don't eat many potatoes now but will make an exception for those I grew myself. You cannot imagine the difference in flavor.
These are nice solid looking babies too. They should make plenty of healthy eyes. At planting time you look the potatoes over and decide where the best eye clusters are, and then divide the potato up with a knife. You want at least one bigger clump or two small eyes each, and a good hunk of the flesh of the potato, which feeds them until they root out. If the potatoes haven't sprouted by the time I am ready to plant, I expose them to a little light or sun and that usually gets them going. I like to cut them earlier in the day and lay them out in the plastic lugs so that the cut part dries a bit. Makes for a healthier start. 
OK I bought seeds. Not all from the same place, but over the course of the day at a couple of different places. I am having a thing for sunflowers and morning glories these last few years. Zinnias seem to be on my mind this year too, been thinking about how butterflies love those blossoms. Couldn't resist the name of that cauliflower, I eat a lot of it as a low carb substitute for mashed potatoes, rice, noodles or pasta. The Sun Gold cherry tomato is my absolute favorite, it tastes like a fine fruity wine. You will never see it commercially available because the fruit splits so easily, but it is worth growing for that school bus color and juicy lip smacking taste in a salad or just by the handful. The pepper looked interesting, I loved the darker color. Just started my sweet peppers today in fact - 20 varieties of bells, fryers, and small conical sweet things. The orange cosmos and plant food packet came in the mail with a special offer to join a club. Didn't want the club, but will take the goodies anyway, thank you very much...
The inexpensive packages of seed from the racks are generally older varieties that can be gotten relatively cheap from small seed farms. Still worth planting some of them as they often are tried and true survivors. And if you have never seen a vine full of translucent and dewy Heavenly Blue morning glories, or a bowing head of mammoth sunflowers being picked over by goldfinches and chickadees, you don't know what you're missing. Lots of Zen moments like that in gardening, and well worth the expense of a few packets of seed and the labor of turning the earth to watch them grow.
Something about this peony, maybe the name or the color, caught my eye. It was on a rack with a whole bunch of other pink plants for Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation. I guess 30¢ donation doesn't seem like much, but add that up by the potential sales. It did remind me that my mother and I are due for mammograms again this spring, and hopefully if the two roots in there take, it will continue to do that for years to come. Peonies, once established, last for many, many years. Hopefully we will too. I like the idea that this company tied in gardening with breast cancer survival and research. It is very fitting, and a true message of hope.
OK, so it's not a plant or seed, and it's not particularly attractive or cheap for that matter. But I need a good heavy dustpan to help clean up around my plant table, and I can never find the other ones. This one is big and shiny, so hopefully it will be hard to lose.
A second trip out the next day in a different area with an outdoor access only mall, where you go from store to store on the outside. It is actually a bunch of separate buildings, each with several smaller stores or one big one. I needed something at the pet store, but just had to go into the home improvement store and browse the garden department, which is just gearing up for the year. Saw these before I got very far inside, and was delighted to have them. I love shallots and these are huge, and have been wanting Lily of the Valley for a while. Yeah, I know, they can be invasive, but they are so darn cute! Like little fairy bells, you can almost hear them tinkle.
Once again, both look pretty healthy. It pays to shop early I guess.
Um, did I mention that I got seeds there? Actually these came from two places, one of the department stores also has seeds. As you can see, the sunflower fetish continues. I bet I have 2 dozen different kinds now. Always wanted to try corn salad, it sounds interesting and I love interesting salads. The nasties are for planting around the cucumbers, where they chase the cuke beetles away and keep the toes of the vines cool (I grow cukes on a trellis). I like the way the flowers peep at me from within the round foliage, being coy like that. I thought that was a kewl mix of colors. The leaves and flowers of nasturtiums can be eaten in salads, and I hear the immature seed pods can be pickled like capers. And I've been thinking that I would love to have an herb garden, and am looking at a spot on the bank behind the house that is nothing but weeds in full sun. It would take some doing, but I just might be up to that this year, having lost 74 lbs already and being much more able to get around and do things.
On our way back from the mall, Lee and I took the highway route because one exit dumps out not far from one of our favorite thrift shops. A little bit better day on a Wednesday, and I found the following items...
That mug is so heavy, I just love it. I have a recipe for roasted tomato soup that I want to try soon, and so it may get its virgin use here with that. I love those books BTW. The tin was a no brainer, you know how I am with them. I bought the little candle for the tin, but will burn it, it has a light, sweet scent.
The soil test kit is old, but the chemicals look OK to me. It was worth the 99¢ to take a gamble. That is a grab bag of needlepoint or crewel yarn, I don't think it is wool though. The craft outlet price on it was $3.99, but the thrift store only wanted 99¢. Works for me!
OK, I was not in the market for more silverware or utensils, but since three other people had picked through them, I figured I should at least take a look. As I have said in the past, I no longer try to match anything, I just want stuff that holds up to wear and tear. These are all rugged. I got the two serving pieces half off too, because they had pink tags. What's not to love about that? Yeah, I am such a junk picker, but I love it. *w*
Thought you might like to see how some of my fall gleanings wintered over. Sorry about the cellar clutter in these shots.
This butternut squash below has been fabulous. I've been cutting, peeling, and nuking it in cubes until soft and then running the hand blender through it. Lots of creamy butter (the real stuff), some shakes of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, and a couple glugs of real maple syrup, and ooooohhh that is heavenly. Most kids seem to love creamy and sweet, so this is a veggie they will taste and then eat. Hey, I made a poem! LOL Seriously, I cooked two more of these the other day and they were fabulous.
I have got to do something with these sugar pumpkins, they were volunteers that grew out of the compost pile all the way around the shed down to the dogs' yards. They have kept better than anything else. I should save some seed, roast them, and make pumpkin soup. Yeah, sounds good!
What a difference three weeks can make! I did have to do some rearranging of things on that shelf, getting rid of dead plants (lost a few) and consolidated others to make room for seedlings under the shelf lights. I had to move most of the onions out there because I needed room in the growhut for a new crop. Looks kinda junglely, doesn't it?
Here is a small shot of the growhut with its content as of last Wednesday. That was before I started all the paste tomatoes and sweet peppers and filled the thing up.
Look at those tomato plants, can you believe it has only been three weeks? I have got to get them separated and growing in their own pots. Yes I have fed them twice with diluted liquid plant food. The seedling soil mix is a bit lean. Yeah that is a mouse trap, we have mice in the cellar, and at this time of year they like to chew on green growing stuff. I don't want to lose anything.
The curled over plants next to the tomatoes are the bulk of my broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts (brassica genus) plants for the year as well as a few eggplants, which need an early start. The brassica plants don't like the excess warmth down there so they do tend to get a bit spindly. I will just pot them up deeper than they are now, once their stems get stronger. I still get good crops off them, so have just learned to deal with not having an ideal climate for everything.
The scratch and dent stuff that is slow coming up, along with some new plantings in the next tray. That square container is from the deli and it is holding celeriac seedlings, which you might not be able to see, since they are tiny. In case you didn't know, celeriac is a celery family plant that is grown for its swollen stem, that I hear tastes like celery with the crunchiness and cooking potential of a potato. It is knobby and has to be peeled. Just something I saw and wanted to try. The seeds looked like and smelled like the celery seeds you buy as spice BTW.
And that is it for this post. Just wanted to give you an update on what I am doing. In addition to all this other stuff, I still cook, clean, and run my household, albeit with lots of help from the family. Been writing another Lazlo story and tons of emails, been shopping and helping celebrate birthdays. Had a tummy virus a week or so ago, found out I have a cataract ready to be operated on, and am fighting a mild but annoying cold right now. So yep, I be busy!
C'mon spring, the snow is gone, and the frost is out of the ground. I can feel you in every sunny and pleasant 55° day, and I heard you in the calls of two robins up back. I know you are just around the corner, and I will soon have to move some plants outside, at least during the days. I desperately need the room to grow, in more ways than one. *s*
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