Seed planting time!!!
I am all ready to roll, well, almost. First I need all my little pots and seed starting mix which is up north currently, but we will be going to get them in a week or so, as well as my new plant table that hubby built for me. Since we moved last Spring, I lost my big window sill in the living room that held all the plant trays in the warm sunshine.
So hubby put together a long, tall, narrow table made from 2 x 4’s and plywood (very elegant looking, just you wait and see) so I have a place to start all my little garden buddies in the condo.
Here is the array of seeds to be grown this year, some new pepper and tomato varieties as well as a couple new flowering plants to use for dye purposes.
New this year will be trying my hand at growing Milkweed, yes, it is a common weed, but it is also the only plant that the larvae of the Monarch Butterfly feed upon. Their population has been on a steady decline over recent years so I am doing my part to provide habitat (food) for the butterflies to raise their larvae on. With any luck, I will have Monarch chrysalis’ hanging from the undersides of the leaves this summer!
More to come on the seed starting once I get the rest of my supplies here, but I am just so excited my seeds arrived that I just had to write about it now, and yes, little things like seeds make me deliriously happy, not unlike shopping for yarn….
Deborah
wooohooooo. It’s like pretending it’s spring already. I *finally* got a crop of tomatoes so my vegetable inspiration is back and I got a bunch of organic seeds for Christmas that I’m getting ready to start : )
I had a bumper crop of milkweed last year and lost track of the number of butterflies we released (pretty sure it was upwards of 50). We built a little screened in hut to move around because the wasps, of all things, were annihilating the caterpillars. Literally picking them off one by one before my eyes. So, be on the lookout for those joy stealers. We also raised some black swallowtails on the parsley and dill. I am growing a fennel that I want to transplant and it looks really good so far, but I think I read that they don’t like being transplanted, we’ll see! I hope you do as well with the butterflies as we did.
AHA! It was sitting in the “to be approved” comment section. L) Don’t worry Linda, I would never block you from making comments. I am gobsmacked at the extent you went to to protect the caterpillars from the the wasps! Great tip! I know Swallowtails love parsley, but never had any on mine (and last years parsley plant turned into a monster bush).
I am not big on Fennel so am no help there, if you want to try transplanting, make sure you dig quite a ways out, around and under so as not to disturb the roots. I transplanted Nasturitum once…ooof, they really didn’t like that at ALL 😉
Great to *see* you on here! Been far too long 🙂