This morning it was -6F with 20 mph winds. 5 days ago I started dropping seeds into dirt. It is going to warm up some day, but for the moment winter is holding tight.
I was really happy with Beaver Dam peppers last year. I had been holding onto the seeds for quite a few years before finally planting them out last year, and got nearly 100% germination still. I assume that what I saved last year will be at least as good, but I never bothered with a germination test.
So long as she was paying attention to what she was doing, Violet’s tiny fingers are great for precision planting and counting of seeds. 45 to a container. I reuse, again and again, the plastic clamshells that strawberries come in, for starting seeds. They drain and vent well, while acting like a mini greenhouse at the same time.
We did a half dozen flats of peppers, 5 of cabbage, and a dozen of tomatoes. Lots more to come.
So, 5 days later, these are Coldset tomatoes.
And that is Czech Bush.
Cabbages I plant more thickly, for the most part because the seeds are tiny and slippery. They transplant well, even when tearing apart a thick cluster. All of them emerged in 3 days and were moved downstairs under the grow lights.
So, well, potentially there is maybe 2500 pounds of cabbage there, which even at a fraction in final mature plants should be enough for us, and everyone we know, to make as much sauerkraut as we can all eat.
About two more weeks until the spring solstice. Spring is coming. I just keep repeating that.
