Seed Starting Part II....OK, Only Some Seeds Starting

Last weekend I started some broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower seeds in cell packs in order to transplant them in a month or so. My seed starting setup is in our unheated basement so it stays pretty cold down there. For those of you who have never had the pleasure, here it is:
No laughing. It really works rather well. It's just a piece of plywood wedged between two unfinished walls and one supporting it in the middle, but it's not really holding it up since the horizontal board is wedged so tight. It stays pretty darn cold down there so what grows, grows slowly, but it does grow, which is better than nothing at all.

I mainly wanted to start the broccoli seeds. I'm going to have 9 broccoli plants. Not a lot for many of you, but I decided to checkerboard them again this year. The one per sqft planting did not work out for me this fall, so it's back to what I know will work. Those things just need more room.

I've failed each time with cabbage and cauliflower. I bought some smaller cabbage that's supposed to be better for SFGardening, but I'm still going to checkerboard them. I put three cells of cauliflower. Why? Beats me. I suppose I'll keep on trying since I have the seed.

Now the seedlings are starting to emerge. Look at the pretty seedlings on the left and the bare cells on the right.
Murphy's Law. It's unavoidable. The cabbage and cauliflower are in the left pack. The broccoli, with only two cells sprouting, is the right.

Well, what'ya gonna do. I'll give the broccoli a few more days. The seed is last year's seed and I'm not an experienced seed storer so that may be why they're not sprouting. Instead of ordering new seed, I'm going to let the packs they sell at the stores suffice. However, they haven't put the seed racks out here yet. I thought I remembered MLK weekend as the go-to date last year, but I'm sure they'll be out at least by Valentine's Day.

I may leave the cells outside for the next few days and just bring them in at night to see how they'll do with the real sun. Yesterday, our low was 23 and we made it to 61 for the high. Amazing. We're in for a few week stretch of 50 degree weather. Do you think if I put them outside in the morning when I go to work that they'll enjoy the sun during the day and be content to go in and out?

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Bridging the Gap

2009 was a banner year for The Corner Yard.

2009 was the first year for The Corner Yard, so I don't suppose I should be surprised having nothing to compare it to. We did have that small container garden that didn't produce a single cucumber or zucchini and the handful of little yellow pear tomatoes can't hold a candle to what we grew this year. Ok, so we went from six pots to 204 sqft. Hold the *duh* factor. I'm giddy and I'll spin the tale as I like, so...2009 was a banner year for The Corner Yard. ;)

I harvested 136 lbs. Which, honestly, from 204 sqft isn't a lot, but I didn't add the other corner yard or the side yards until well into the summer growing season and everything I planted in the other corner yard failed, so I can only imagine next year will be better.

Here is the last harvest from the 2009 garden...harvested in 2010.

I pulled all of the remaining broccoli regardless of how it looked since it didn't seem to be growing anymore, and after the week of 20 and below temperatures, I figured I was lucky it looked as good as it did. We'll be enjoying them tonight!

The only things left in that garden are the onions, garlic and the rosemary bush that keeps hanging on. Even though I counted this broccoli in with the 2009 harvests, I'm thinking of counting the garlic and onions in with 2010 since they were planted with the intent to harvest in 2010.

In other good news, I came home today to find two seed packs from Dan at Urban Veggie Garden Blog. He sent along two varieties of tomato seeds, one Black Cherry and the other Cherokee Purple.
I've never tried to start tomatoes from seed before. I'm excited to give it a shot, but nervous as well. We don't have a single window with a northern or southern exposure, and the windows that get eastern exposure are shielded with a porch awning and the western light is blocked by the woods out back. The basement light set up is too cold to support tomato seeds, but I'm thinking I may be able to smooth talk one of the teachers with a window in my school or my neighbor into renting me space on a ledge in exchange for seedlings. I really, really have my fingers crossed that I can get these to work.
Thank you, Dan!! You've helped to sustain my neurosis until planting time.

The morning comes early. Sweet seed starting dreams!

Spring Seed Starting

It doesn't feel like it outside, but Spring isn't far away. What remaining broccoli was in the side yard will come out this afternoon and all that will be left in any of the gardens will be the onions, garlic and rosemary. The 18 degree temperatures killed off what remaining radishes and lettuce I had attempted to grow out there, but the soil is frozen solid, so I can't pull out the remains yet.


By last year's calendar, this is when I started my cole crop seedlings to transplant in mid February. I went to my local big box and other stores that usually carry seeds, and contrary to what other people around the country have said, our local stores haven't started stocking any seeds or seed starting supplies yet. It's a good thing I still had some seeds and seed starting medium left over from last year.

Today I started my broccoli (Green Goliath). This has done wonderfully for me in the past and I'm glad to grow it again. I must be a glutton for punishment because I split a flat with cauliflower and cabbage. I've never gotten cauliflower to grow - this will be my third attempt, and my adventure with cabbage was well documented earlier this fall. I figured one more go and then I concede defeat.

The cabbage is Green Gonzalez. The description read it had smaller heads and was conducive to intensive or raised bed gardening, so it was worth a shot.

I mixed together some potting soil and seed starting medium and filled two 9 hole cell packs that I saved from last year. I put two seeds per cell being that they were last year's seeds and I was banking that they'd sprout. I did forget to wet the soil down BEFORE I put the seeds in their places, so I'm hopeful things will still go well.

Next, I covered the flats with a plastic bag and put them on the kitchen counter until they germinate. Once they germinate, I'll throw them in the basement under the light set up. It's pretty darn cold out there, but the light does give off some heat.

In a few weeks, I'll start my lettuce mixes in cell packs. I'll run short of space under the lights, but hopefully by that time, the broccoli will be able to spend some time outside in the sun during the day and the lettuce can be pampered under the lights.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Oatmeal Cookies To the Rescue!

Sorry! I don't have an excellent cookie recipe to share. I wish I could help you there, but I honestly don't bake from scratch and I'm okay with using the Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix. Having a bag or two around the house never hurts when you get iced in and it's too inhumanely cold outside to garden.

Today was one of those days. The boy and girl have both convinced themselves that they are too old for naps. The boy, at almost 6, I understand. The girl, at almost 3, is just trying to hang with the big dog. Inevitably, as the day wears on, we get cranky, groggy and generally combative, so we decided to make cookies to quell the rising squall.
The girl decided making cookies was hard work so she had to take of her sweatshirt.

They ate their cookies, scrumptious, might I add, and we then moved the party to include an early, early bath. After much splashing and general glee, the boy and I did some laundry while the girl went downstairs to play and the man braved the icy streets and went to the grocery. After 10 minutes or so of laundry, the boy got bored and went to play with his sister....who was not in the playroom as expected.
See. She's not there. We screamed her name and ran outside, upstairs, and in the back yard. I was almost in full panic mode. Maybe the man had taken her to the store...but she was wearing a night dress and couldn't go out like that. I went back to the playroom to look in the closets when....look through the window in the second partition of the doll house.....
Looks like we're not beyond naps after all.

The morning comes early, and I need a stout beverage to settle my nerves. Sweet gardening dreams.

That Errand...

Looks like I should have darted out for the beer and frozen pizza after all. Schools are closed today. Yes, this is the extent of the snow, and this is your cue to snicker, but it's the ice on the roads that is causing the difficulty. Minimal ice, but ice none-the-less, and we're ill equipped to handle the situation.

Regardless, it's still funny.

Whereas the beer and pizza would have been prudent, who needs the traditional snow-cry of the Southern man of "white bread and milk" anyway when you've got biscuits with Stefaneener's "sweet honey" as the boy calls it. Perfection in a jar.

The morning will come cold and early. Sweet gardening dreams.

Y'all Northern Folk Get the Last Laugh

Go on. Chortle from deep in your belly. We southerners just can't handle snow.

Actually, we can't even handle the idea snow might fall. The word 'snow' makes us all dash to the grocery for white bread and milk to sustain us through a meager dusting, but we all do our duty and panic unmercifully and watch the weather continuously just in case a rogue flake rears its ugly head.

We're expected to get a dusting tomorrow.
A dusting, mind you, and schools are closing left and right. Some are releasing kids tomorrow at noon. I remember a few years ago we canceled school for the threat of snow which never fruitioned.
Go on. Laugh.

Now, I concede that we don't have the ability to handle snow like the north does. Salt trucks are limited and I honestly have never seen a plow. Ice IS dangerous. We, as drivers, are ill equipped with the know-how in order to navigate in icy conditions. No one is arguing that, but the chicken little routine is over the top.

So, now I've said this and the reports will be wrong and we'll wind up getting 3-4 inches which would constitute a major snowfall in this area. The white bread and milk may not be such a bad idea after all....but I may just substitute my panic for beer and frozen pizza.

Old Man Winter Bites

I know I've got nothing to complain about. Many of you have high temperatures now that are lower than our lows at the moment, and technically, I'm not complaining; I'm stating fact.


It's down-right frigid out there. It's unnatural, I tell you. Our weather dude said this was the coldest January with the longest running cold snap in 15 years. I'm thinking that deserves a blog post in itself. It's not supposed to get above freezing until after this weekend which is just odd for GA, especially in January. February usually has a few doozie days, but this is early and fierce.

The extra garlic in the little pot has prostrate itself and is begging for mercy. Those limp tendrils echo the plight of their sisters in the corner yard. Hopefully they'll perk up once winter is over and grow enough to be harvested. It's my first go with garlic, but I'm hopeful.

The onions in the side bed are also feeling the burn. However, these are doing MUCH better than the ones I planted last year and have even fattened up quite a bit. I actually think I may get some to bulb up for me this spring. This will be a very nice treat. I need to thin a few out, but I feel a lot of soup coming our way soon, so I'll pull them for use in that.

Oddly enough, the remaining broccoli shoots that I planted willy nilly in the side yard, under the chimney so they don't get any rain and I haven't touched them with a hose or bucket, the ones I've completely ignored and said, "Eh, if they grow, they grow," are scorning Old Man Winter and enjoying their lives just fine. You know, I've almost forgotten the joy of pulling things from the garden. We got so inundated with broccoli that I'm delaying picking this last batch just a little bit longer. I wonder if I'll get the excitement back when it comes time to plant and harvest for the spring year after year. Last year I was chomping at the bit; this year I feel a bit more reserved and patient. I'm sure I will gear up as soon as the time comes to start my spring transplants in just a couple of weeks and then I'll rally as the jungle emerges. That first ripe tomato will also help out quite a bit, I imagine.

I'm thinking then, maybe this cold isn't so bad after all. Oh, it's miserable alright, but may not be a deal breaker. It provides a well needed respite and allows you to decompress and rally the troops. There's a lot to look forward to, and wonderful seed catalogues and cider to keep me warm. It's time to dig out my graph paper and begin planning in earnest. I think the planning is almost as enjoyable as the harvesting.

The morning comes early. Sweet gardening dreams.