I'm not going to lie, I have put off posting because I was afraid I was going to only have bad news. The tomatoes I had planted were not sprouting and I wasn't sure what to do.
Last year you see, I started my seeds indoors in February because I was so excited by the idea of gardening. I just plopped whatever I found in some peat pots and soil I had lying around and boom, I had all sorts of things sprouting within days. I had peas, tomatoes, jalapenos....it was great. A little too great I think. My peas never did really handle the transition outdoors in May.
But this year it feels as though it's taken FOREVER for any sign of green. Finally, about few days ago I got a tentative sprout. And then another, and then ANOTHER. Right now I have 6 Amish Paste Tomato plant sprouts. I'm still a little anxious but am feeling like I can ALMOST start breathing again.
I've been asked why I don't just buy the starters at the nursery. I don't think there is anything wrong with starters and in fact if my raised beds end up being as big as I suspect I may just end up having to supplement with some because I don't know that I planted enough seeds.
I do like seeing something I've started reach fruition, which is one of my favorite parts of gardening. And parenting. Sure, I could just adopt a 13 year old but what fun would that be? I like to see them (both plants and children) start small, almost from nothing, and grow into something amazing.
The difference of course is that I plant to eat the fruits of my labor with tomato. Not so much with children. Hopefully. Although there are days.........
In a powered down world I'm not sure that we will have such a steady supply of starter tomatoes at the local nursery. If we can get there the cost of a food crop might just be exorbitant if we are living in a world where growing our own food is the main source of our sustenance. Heck, being able to grow and sell starters for food crops might even be a home based business for those with particularly good green thumbs.
So having some practice on the whole plant life cycle as a gardener is probably a good idea. Right now if I kill all these plants tomorrow, I can do to the nursery and try again next year. In the future...maybe not so much.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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4 comments:
All that pratcice will pay off, including the failures, in fact you learn more from the failures than the successes, well, I do anyway. I have loads of failures so I can have successes later, I hope so anyway :)
I apologize if this sounds arrogant....but you know you don't have to start your peas inside, right? Peas do well in cool weather, so you can plant them quite early, directly into the garden. Beans as well.
I don't think it's arrogant at all. Last year I had no idea that peas were cold weather (or even what cold weather meant). But after the "Great Pea Die-off" of ought 10 I did some research and saw the error of my ways. At KJ said, sometimes you learn more from the errors. :) This year my beans and pea seeds are still safetly tucked away waiting to be planted straight into the containers.
Good post and I love the new look...owls made me smile!
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