I think I have all of the early seeds for transplants in the soil, and of those most are now sprouted. Still a few flats sitting on top of the fridge and on shelves over the stove waiting for emergence, but most have sprouted and are now in the basement under grow lights.
This is a small flat of Joe Lauerer tomatoes, about 40 of them, which should take care of our own needs and individuals I promised plants to.
Between different flats, I have about 150 Jimmy Nardello peppers going. This is, hands-down, my favorite sweet pepper. Every year I grow more of them, and never have I felt I have enough. Last year I did a couple dozen jars of them canned in tomato sauce as well as a few jars of red sauce that was half pepper puree. Pure heaven. Last year it was about 45 plants, with the harvest split with Frank Calta. Hoping to double that this year. I have a flat or two of Tollie’s peppers somewhere as well. My friend Michelle Grannes swears by that one as her workhorse sweet pepper and I am looking forward to seeing how they compare.
All of the cabbages are up. Last year I did late plantings hoping for them to be headed up in the fall, with shorter season varieties. That did not work. None of them formed any sizable heads, so I am doing all mid and long season cabbages with the intent being that they do into the ground early for harvesting from August through October.
The early plantings of kale and tomatoes all look good.
With how warm it has been the last few days, combined with the rain and rapidly melting snow pack, perhaps I will get to put these in the ground myself before I am cut up on the surgery table, and then laid up completely for a while. Meeting with one of the surgeons because Patti and I have a lot of questions regarding all of what will be done. The statement that when I recover I will be able to return to “normal” activities is one that raises a lot of questions in our minds. Normal for me is working 4 or 5 hours outside, plus 8 hours in an office, and a few hours of driving mixed in there as well, and that is just the weekdays. Weekends are dawn to dusk for months on end, with one week off for vacation, and rest finally coming once deer hunting season and meat processing is over. Will I be able to pick up a commercial grade chainsaw and knock apart trees for 20 hours on a weekend? Or is normal going to be sitting in an office for most of a day and maybe a few hours of driving?
Just a lot of questions.
