March 5, 2015

7 eggs from 4 hens?

I was amazed to find 7 eggs in my coop today. But I only have 4 hens!! Hmmm. At first I thought someone had added some. Not. Then maybe that 3 hens layed double. Not. I knew I had tended them yesterday. I remember feeding them a big serving of leftover rice and squash as well as chicken pellets. OK, after thinking rationally, I must have fed them but forgot to bring in eggs. It sure looked cool to see the big nestfull of eggs. Two pinks, one blue, four…

March 4, 2015

more seedlings

Cabbage, radicchio and broccoli seedling have popped up. No sign of eggplant or celeriac sprouts.

March 4, 2015

piliateds

Two enormous piliated woodpeckers making a racket in my backyard! Must be a sign of spring. (I couldn’t find my camera in time. Dang. ) And towards evening, a great horned owl was hooting. Not to mention the racket from all the other smaller birds all day today. The snow is turning to slush. Four feet of slush on our walking trails, nice!

March 3, 2015

a whole bunch of little onion seedlings

I’ve got the seed tray on the kitchen windowsill above the sink so I can watch them grow, just for a day or two. Seems like pretty good germination, except for the shallots and the White Wing. They must be old seed. I’ll have to throw those packets out. (I’ll get them under lights soon, as the sun isn’t very strong here yet.)

March 1, 2015

my first seedling!!!

It’s a little onion sprout. Variety: Red Wing. Actually there are two of them. I feel like a new parent.

March 1, 2015

fig tree is leafing out

Last year I bought a little fig tree to replace my previous tree that died last winter. Last year, I left the tree outside – very stupid of me. This year, I planted the tree in a large planter inside. Back in October or November it dropped all of its leaves. I was worried it was dead, but it is leafing out now. I’ll take that as a sign of spring, even though that is a giant pile of snow outside the window.

February 28, 2015

goodbye to coldest and snowiest February

Its the last day of a remarkable month. February 2015 has ended up breaking records in Boston as the second coldest and the snowiest February ever (64.8 inches – 5.4 feet). At least its a short month. I hope March is better. March is not starting out great: a snowstorm is forecast soon that is supposed to break our snowfall record making 2015 the snowiest winter on record in Boston. (We’re at 102 inches now – the record is here is 107.) I suppose some people love the snow, but…

February 28, 2015

sowing

Tonight I planted broccoli, cabbage, eggplant and radicchio. Varieties are here. I’m experimenting with different seed cell sizes. I put the eggplants in larger cells (I sowed 2 seeds per cell and will thin to 1 per cell) as they need to grow ’til the soil warms and will be pretty large before planting out. The cabbage goes out sooner (the middle of April, but only if I can get at the garden through the snow!), so I put them in smaller cells. In the past, I’ve planted 4 or…

February 22, 2015

winter sowing

I collected eight plastic bottle at our Town recycling center. I cut them open then added potting soil and planted flower seeds. After taping the bottles, I dug out a spot for them in a south facing area of my yard and then buried the bottles. This method is good for all sorts of cold hardy seeds, especially flower seeds that often need a chilling period. The bottle makes a nice little greenhouse and the hole at the top is perfect for letting in just the right amount of moisture.…

February 22, 2015

first seed sowing of 2015

It’s my day of planting seeds!! I’m a few days late from my schedule – the winter seems like it might never end, so that’s probably OK. I planted celeriac, onions, shallots and leeks. Varieties are listed here: 2015 planting list. I also set up eight bottles of flower seeds using the winter planting method. I’ll post photos and details tomorrow.

weeks and counting until my last spring frost

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