Sunday, March 2, 2025

Getting the garden ready

 Hi Everyone!

Here it is March 2 and I'm getting my garden ready. As you may know I wasn't going to have a garden this year. I wanted to give the grounds a rest. However, with president musk and his russian sidekick raising the prices on all food goods, I thought I had better get to growing. Even though the weather is not playing nice I am getting a start on as much as I can indoors. This photo is walking into my art room. I know I need an outdoor garden building. It is what it is. Here I have 104 cells with all kinds of veggie seedlings. 2 containers with lettuce and radishes. 1 container with sweet potato starts, 1 container with red onion starts and a pot with sweet onion. In addition this morning I started 6 pots of russet potatoes. This window shot is the south side of my yard.

 Friday I soaked seeds that needed it and snipped ends of flat seeds. Then the fun starts. Get the soil prepared and fill the cells.

 I have used this same 72 seed cell for a few years now. 


 It's nice that it has a tray and a humidity cover.


These are starter cells with not tray or humidity cover. So they go into a plastic container and I use the lid. It works
 

 These are the other containers I mentioned above. Look how much the potted onion has grown from last week.

 I'm truly on an onion kick. I love that all of them have come from my garden or ends of store bought. I don't think I will have to order any starters this year.

Red onion from last years garden. The inside of the onion is starting to grow.
 

Once it is peeled and onion separated I soak the roots. This is actually optional.

 

 In a few days you will have healthy roots


 

 These really are beautiful.


 

 I have them starting in a dollar store container.
I've never started onions like this so we will see how they grow.


 In these cells I have sweet onions coming up.


 Now, this is something I have never done before either. My seed potatoes are READY to be planted. However, the weather is very rainy and still too cold at night. I know a lady that starts her potatoes indoors and of course I did some research on it. So here it goes.

 I always use bone and blood meal. I don't have the blood meal right now.

 


 I have a bucket of soil and add some Bone meal and mix it up. Also moisten the soil now.  
 I have a 6" pot that I put about 1/4 of soil.


 Add just a bit more Bone Meal.


 

Add the seed potato, eyes up. 
 

 Top with soil, water and pack down the soil a bit.

 I got 6 containers with russets.


 

 I did cut some of these down so they can be planted in a few days.

 

 I know people that cut some of the eyes off when they are in clusters like this. I don't. I have never had a bad harvest so I leave them. Most russets are intermediate potatoes. This means they grow vertically in the soil producing tubers along the stem. So, I'm confident that when the weather is right I will  be able to replant these.

Are you planting a garden this year? If so share with me your garden tips.

Have a great day

Nicole


6 comments:

Tom said...

...a fun time getting dirt under your fingernails!!!

Christine said...

You will have a busy summer!

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I know how much space seedlings can take up inside! But it's worth the inconvenience for the eventual harvest! And isn't that true of so many things?

roentare said...

Spring onions sprouts look very flavoursome for me

Mae Travels said...

I’ve never been a gardener at all, and I find your photos very fascinating. I wish your plants a very healthy prosperous growing season!

My name is Erika. said...

Oh you are having fun, and your starters looks fantastic. I am jealous. We still have a foot on snow on the ground and I don't have any sunny windows to yet start my seedlings. Have fun!