Oi! Things have been a bit busy around my house, what with tire changes, birthday and easter celebrations, working overtime with my boss being away... I have lots to update on, but it seems I am always short on time!
My seedlings are doing extremely well! I am actually quite surprised at their growth rate - last year at this point (just under 2 weeks after planting) I was happy to see sprouts forming. This year I am amazed at how fast everything has come up! I have already transplanted my zucchini, cucumber and peas to larger pots to continue growing as I finish getting the garden ready. I still need to harden the plants off, but I will do that closer to planting time. (Note: for those unfamiliar with the term "hardening off", it is when you introduce your indoor plants to the outdoors. You want to place your plants in an area outside where they will not receive direct sunlight at first, and over the course of a week or so, begin introducing them more and more to sunlight. This will prevent your plants from dying of shock, which can happen if they go from indoors directly into your garden and the harsh sunlight.)
My beans have already been planted outside. I started them indoors as seedlings this year (I did a direct-plant last year, which worked fine, but I thought I would give them a headstart indoors this year) and they have already shot up so fast that I placed them outside last night. I'll admit that I didn't harden them off as I probably should have, but because we are in for a few days of cloudy, drizzly weather, I figured I would be okay... we shall see!
My flowers have begun to sprout indoors as well. I am seeing almost all of the marigolds up out of the soil, a few zinnia and poppies, and the snapdragons. I am still waiting for sprouts of the asters and petunias. I am hoping in the next few days to sketch out my planting design for the flower beds, but I need to find out from my mom and grandma what plants they are giving me so I know what to plant where.
I am slowly but surely working away at getting the large garden weeded so I can get it ready for the vegetables. It is a large job, as it was absolutely overgrown with weeds when we first moved in here I am still battling with quite a number of weeds that regrow over winter each year (moreso than what I would consider normal). Each year it has gotten better, and less weeds regrow, however since it is such a large garden it is a big task. Nevertheless, it must be done and so it shall!
So today I phoned around to see where I could get worms from for my vermicompost (don't know what I'm talking about? check out my blog on vermicomposting below). Turns out many of the places I thought would sell worms do not. It seems my only real option is Surplus Herby's, so I will be trying to get down there over the next few days so I can put them to work! I have quite a bit of compost material ready to be turned into beautiful soil and I can't wait to see how it turns out!
I really hope to get some photos up soon, but my time is limited so I make no promises on a specific date. I hope your gardens are coming along as well, and I hope you're enjoying your weekend!
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