Getting Started

This week we began the seasons earliest task of starting seeds. Onions, leeks, and all the pepper varieties are first in the lineup. Cell trays are filled with soil mix and then tiny seeds are deposited. Next they are watered ever so gently and then placed on the seed tables in the front room.
These early starts are kept indoors until they germinate. We are fortunate to have built the house with huge windows facing due south, perfect for providing the elements we need for tiny seeds to crack open. Within the next two weeks, the big greenhouse will be fired up and all the seedlings will move out there. For now, I am so happy to have that sunlit front room which stays super toasty with the woodstove cranking. With the temperatures we have been having, I cringe when thinking about heating the greenhouse. Yet, despite the frigid cold, we know the sun is high and strong and warmer days are just beyond us. Also indoors, we are using up any vegetables that are showing signs of being stored. Winter squash, beets, carrots, and the last of the onions all finding their way into our daily meals. So, right now, the house is also showing signs of both ends of the cycle. I love that. Like so many who grow their own food or those who garden for the pure aesthetics, bearing witness to this cycle is part of the joy and reward.