Getting the Crops In

Strawberries!
I had the cover from something else.
My squirrels and birds like to uproot the plants.

Yesterday was a productive day for gardening. I planted my bare-root strawberries in the pink Greenstalk (along with two different strawberry plants from the hardware store). The plants, from Park Seed, arrived a week or two ago and I had plopped them in the fridge until yesterday. So they are used to cold-ish (38 degrees in the fridge).

23 slots, tomatoes on the right, peppers on the left
Peppers for a GS tower, most tomatoes for ground or pots

I started tomatoes and peppers in my Aerogarden. I believe my hydroponics gives seeds a week or two advantage. I also started some pak choi in the large Harvest AG, maybe for keeping inside, maybe for going out. All these new plants should be fine until I get back from France.

 

My brave little Golden Harvest!

I also had plopped some old AG tomato seed pods into the AG slim. They are from 2022 - I didn't expect much. But at least two plants have sprouted, one each of an Heirloom Cherry and a Golden Harvest. I would put these in a Greenstalk.

More plans, but it's raining right now, so thinking of inside things. 

I will not buy any more seeds this year…

 I will not buy any more seeds this year. I will NOT buy any more seeds this year. I will not buy ANY MORE seeds this year. I WILL NOT buy any more seeds this year. 

Still Gardening

Last night, I dipped into the freezer and 
got my second-to-last bag of my tomatoes,
and my last peppers, to make a sauce.

It's February, and that means there is a stack of seed catalogs on my coffee table four inches high. I just placed an order for seeds and supplies, due in next week. At the end of last season, I bought some planters on sale, and I've been musing about where they go (in my limited sun) and how to protect them from deer (my excellent deer fence mostly protects the shady part - the bulk of - my yard).

In the mean time, I am growing inside. I did a round of lettuce that all got eaten the week before I went on vacation. I'm participating in a group challenge for indoor growing - my online group selected specific vegetables and varieties, and we all planted them at the same time. It's not a competition, we're comparing notes and tips. I've got cherry tomatoes, shishito peppers, and nasturtiums going, besides a basil plant on the window sill. I've got the usual house plants inside, including three citrus under a strong grow light - two limes and a lemon, I think, though since there is little to no fruit its hard to be sure. Plant tending is a great putter while listening to a book or podcast.

Tomatoes and peppers in the basement

Closeup of the pepper plants blooming away
I do some fertilizing them using an old electric toothbrush

My kitchen window, just before going away
Tomato, basil, thyme, pepper in window
nasturtium in tabletop unit
I also like having the bright lights in the kitchen