Are They Here Yet?

You probably think I am talking about the arrival of beloved relatives, or aliens, or cows…but nope… I am anxiously awaiting the mailman and what he will be bringing me…and I am pretty sure he doesn’t appreciate me pouncing on him everyday when he walks up the driveway.

But I can’t help it.

You see, I ordered my vegetable/flower seeds the other day from OSC (Ontario Seed Company) and of course, I am as usual…incredibly *impatient* to get them.  Ok, impatient isn’t the right word… I am not impatient.  I prefer to think of it as spontaneity.  A joyful, lively appreciation for all things new and exciting.  Other people may think of it as being impatient…but what do they know?

It is the end of January in Canada, and if you aren’t ice fishing, sledding, skating or sliding sideways down a snow-covered highway in minus-whatever temperature, you are dreaming of sunny, warm days, with your hands encrusted in dirt, planting and preparing the garden for this year’s bounty.  Which means it is almost time for planting seeds in hundreds of little pots.  So many little pots, that there is no room to sit in the living room (a good excuse for not entertaining).

I already have a head start on some herbs, like these teeny Cilantro seedlings that popped up this past week….

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Awwww……gardening…  back-breaking work, but oh so rewarding when you are able to pick a basketful of fresh, home-grown produce to be turned into luscious jams, jellies, pickles, sauces and relishes.  A home-grown salad couldn’t be any tastier with just pulled from the garden lettuce, or that big, round, juicy tomato sliced onto a hot off the grill burger. 

Summer will be here before we know it and I am busy..busy…busy prepping for it.  Here is what will be grown this year, shared between the small plot in the home garden and the newly built (thanks to my hubby – smooch!) garden bed at the Homestead.  I need to maximize every square inch of space in both places, as well as using the various sized containers that he built last year for me. 

Bibb Lettuce
Carrots
Radishes (2 varieties)
Peas (2 varieties)
Beets
Garlic (planted last fall)
Beans (small, bush variety, not the Jack and the Beanstalk variety)
Tomatoes (Roma’s and Cherry’s)
Peppers – Jalapeños, Poblanos, Serranos and a second attempt at Habañeros (last year’s were duds)

I have also ordered some Marigold seeds.   Marigolds are pretty, but they also stink.  Planting a border of Marigolds around your vegetable garden has been known to reduce or deter pest insects, as they dislike the smell of them.  This will be an experiment, as last year I had several pepper plants half stripped of their leaves and earwigs were to blame, they truly are one of Mother Nature’s nasty critters. 

So here I sit, day after day…

waiting…and waiting…and waiting..

for the arrival of summer in a seed packet. 

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