Dude! It, like, totally worked!

Yup, my too-cheap-to-live seed germination solution worked perfectly and insanely quickly. Like, tomatoes and basil germinating in three days. Here they are, tucked under lights and lookin' good:


Tomatoes


Basil

The only thing resisting are the chilies (poblano and jalapeno). Maybe they're waiting for the completion of the greenhouse? That's cool. I wouldn't trust me either.

Mmm...makin' babies...

Well, plant babies, anyway.

If you've ever been to my house, you know I keep it cold in the winter. Sure, you can see your breath, and the frigid air will likely bring on yet another of your coughing spells, but just look at my heating bill! Assuming you can grasp it with your rapidly-numbing digits.

What I'm getting at is that tomatoes and peppers need warmth to germinate. And it's pretty obvious that a person as cheap as me isn't going to shell out for a fancy heated germination mat. So about me I cast mine eyes, and they came to rest...on a cheap-ass foam cooler.



Ding! Just add a quart jar of hot tap water morning and night, and you have the perfect, temperature-controlled enclosure. At the first sign of green, the new seedlings will be placed under grow lights and learn to deal with the realities of my chilly little house. But for now they're almost living the good life in their foam-clad Margaritaville. Lucky little bastages...

Sprung

Today's the first day of spring. I know what the calendar says, but nature's clock has other ideas. Today was so beautiful I could (and can still) taste it.

I spent this liminal afternoon putting together the first half of the garden beds. Who says print news is dead? From where I stand, it's positively writhing with worms.



Seriously, newsprint makes an awesome foundation mulch for a new garden bed. Covered with well-aged manure from a kindly neighbor, partially-composted leaves, and topsoil, it's ready to molder for a couple months until planting time begins in earnest. The new, ultra-rich soil will be planted with sweet corn, squash, and a metric ton of tomatoes. I'll use my older, shadier garden beds to plant root veggies and greens.

Compounding my planting mania, the ever-resourceful manfriend found us a free, jumbo-sized greenhouse frame. This year we'll have eggplant, peppers (hot and sweet), and (with any luck) maybe a gourd or two to add to the harvest. I haven't been this excited about spring in years. I see my planting options expanding, and I'm thoroughly tickled.