Whooo, hot out there!

Gryph and I were working in the yard. It's pretty hot out there in the western sun! Really discomfortable... and I am discomforted to be sure! So glad we're going back to spring weather tomorrow.

Veggies: Peas are up in the greenhouse, as are lettuces and a tiny number of carrots (Cosmic Purple). We moved the flats off the fridge and the herbs off the washer, so the greenhouse is filling up.

Weeds (which are actually herbs): Henbit and speedwell are blooming all over the yard; purple archangel (deadnettle) is just coming into bloom. I notice that the polar vortex set them back quite a bit; they're all pretty short this year. Last year they were just tall enough to look like a gentle meadow. Dandelions are leafing out and once in a while blooming. No sign of violets, but the curly dock is a good six inches across.

Bulbs: The crocus finally gave up the ghost and the daffodils are just coming into full bloom. A lone tulip has come up in one of the front yard flower beds and I believe that's where I'll put all my grocery-store tulips, see if they can adapt to life in the yard.

The new peach tree is blooming already, sooo pretty those pale pink blossoms, wide and delicate. I'm considering putting her in the front yard but for now she seems to be glorying in that hot western sun so I'll leave her on the back porch.

The potatoes have gone into my first big pot by the wheelchair ramp. We left the bag of potting soil next to the pot so I can fill it as the taters grow, and covered the pot with bird netting to keep the squirrels out.

Invasives: We  have to do something about the Star of Bethlehem. It's toxic and invasive and I need it GONE. It's so hard for me to deal with that I'm actually considering an herbicide for it and for the English ivy which is taking over the entire house and yard. I just haven't got the stamina to deal with them, never have had, and I also don't have the money to pay someone else to deal with it.

Reseeding

Replanted peas in the greenhouse today: De Grace in the long low pot, Carouby De Maussane in the two 24" pots, and Sugar Bon in the two square pots. Haven't decided whether to reuse the cardboard tube pots with all the non-sprouted carrots and beets; probably will. 

Calendula are sprouting well. The weather is too unsettled to plant them out yet. Even unheated, my laundry room is 20 degrees warmer than the greenhouse so putting them in the greenhouse won't work either. But that greenhouse will be getting lavender sooner rather than later, because I forgot to read the germinating instructions and they say 30-45 days in the fridge before planting. To me that says "cold stratification" and in nature, that would be cold moist stratification (snow and rain)--easy to get right now with freezing nights. I'll likely plant the lavender and prairie sage in the same flat, and search out any others I have which need stratification.

Today's seeds, in a 72 hex-cell propagator which is now on top of the fridge: creeping thyme, clary sage, aromatic aster, lemon bee balm, purple prairie clover, and marshmallow, plus the three peas mentioned above.

Next up: salad mix, lavender, and prairie sage.

This extraordinary cold

Got a closer look at the peas in the yard--which I had thought were probably freeze-dried in this extraordinary cold--and they actually seem to still be alive!! Now I wish I had planted tons more. It was an experiment, you know? The weeds were sprouting exuberantly and I thought, well surely there must be some equally hardy veggies, peas and lettuces at least, right? But I had NO IDEA the polar vortex would be this brutal. Monday night the low is going to be -11 F (temp conversion says -23.89 C), and that's a record low for us. Normally February is forty degrees F warmer, hovering right around freezing for the nights and a good ten degrees (F) warmer during the day. 

Be interesting to see if the plants in my little greenhouse have survived at all. You can bet this winter is going to inform what and when I plant next winter!!

In the house, tomatoes have the teeeeensiest true leaves showing, sweetpeas are vining, and zukes have one true leaf apiece, the biggest no larger than my thumbnail. Poppies are thread-like and seem to have needed tons more light than they're getting. The kitchen is currently the brightest place in the house because of all the lights. Strawberries and snapdragons remain compact, and such a bright green. Salad mix isn't doing as well as I had wished, lanky, fading, but opening true leaves here and there. Probably past time to plant the fast-growing part of the salad mix.

Whoooot!!!!

Dog had to go out so I surfaced from my wish list. Filled a watering can with room temperature water, headed out, and discovered that an unheated greenhouse is a REALLY lovely thing. Not only are my peas now sprouting (undisturbed by squirrels!!!) in a couple of pots, I have carrots sprouting!!! Whooooot!!!! Odd that they're even faster than the lettuce, especially since the carrot seeds are older, but hey--I'll take it!!! And when they're big enough for my camera to distinguish, I'll post pics!