March 28 - We have germination!

Two days after sowing seeds, I'm pleased to announce the Romas are germinating! I got my seeds from Pinetree and finally got them in soil. I planted a variety of hot and sweet peppers, yellow tomatoes, Romas and my favorite large cherry tomato, Sweet Chelsea. The rest should begin germinating in the next 24 hours. I use the horticulture heating pads under the seeds to speed up the process and keep grow lights on until all are germinated. Plants do need some darkness, you know. I'll most likely sow squash, melons and a few other plants before I'm finished in the basement. Then, everything goes to the greenhouse.

But the really BIG news is that my red maple has been installed. I'd forgotten how big the trunk was from the oak tree. The remaining hole needed to be prepped, filled with dirt and then prepared for the tree. A horticulturist planted it for me, but needed to use a lot of topsoil, much more than expected. I finally have a tree in my front yard again. A red maple offers spring and fall colors.

March 18 - Getting ready!

The garden, and most of the yard, is covered in chickweed. It's gotta go! I'll take care of that with a little spraying. Have a formula that I spray over the grass. Kills the weeds, but not the grass.

Joel and his dad covered an area with black plastic that usually spawns weeds higher than pole beans grow. Next fall, I'll pull up the plastic and plant some strawberries. Should get the first crop in spring 2007.

And, I'm finally getting a tree installed in the front yard. Two years ago, a tornado ripped through my neighborhood, pulling up my huge old oak tree. The hole has remained while I've pondered what to plant. My new red maple will provide beautiful bright yellow flowers in the spring and smashing crimson red glitter in the fall.

Oh, spring is finally here! Regardless, my geraniums continue to bloom all year.

March 14, 2006 - Just returned from a trip to Lansing, Michigan. My aunt was very ill so I took my parents to see her. We left on March 10 - the same day my seeds arrived! From the WV/VA border south, we saw grass starting to green and little red buds on trees. North of that, much of what we saw was slush-gray in color. That will change in the next several weeks.

One of my cousins is a butcher in an upscale grocery store near Michigan State University. The freezer and cooler are stocked with all kinds of premium cuts of meat. And, he knows how to cook it! I learned many grocery stores don't carry the best cuts of meat. You have to get to know your butcher and he'll order them for you.

3/1/06 - Oh, how I long to get dirty and talk to my plants!

Today's climate was right for Katie Bug to bring me a present -little brown rat snake. I expected it. No, I don't kill the little snakes anymore. They're about the size of a pencil and would prefer staying in the ground, not on the back porch. After the cats stop playing with them, the poor snakes slither off to safety. They're not poisonous and are good to keep those which are away.

The garden is full of chickweed. When I lauched my own business, I gave up organic farming and resorted to some chemicals to kill the weeds. That's quicker and time is a premium these days. Will spray this weekend and till a couple of weeks later.

Joel, my boyfriend, will ultimately work with an assortment of peppers. He likes to make Hot Dot Salsa. I'll go into that later.

Joel's dad wants to plant some asparagus. Since it spreads, we'll need to build a raised bed for it. I am considering putting that right in the compost pile. The dirt is very black and rich. I hope we can get to that project this weekend.

Still waiting on my seeds to arrive. I can't wait to get them started in the basement, where I've set up grow lights. Once the seedlings are strong enough, I'll put them in the greenhouse. But in the meantime, I wait.