Weekend Warmth

The woodstove has officially been retired for the season. I removed what little wood was left in the indoor and outdoor woodracks, and returned it to the lean-to. This also means that the deck and the living room have been placed into their non-winter configurations.

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Also, hearalding the season, is that I actually used the clothesline out back to dry clothes instead of hanging them downstairs. This is doubly unusual for several reasons:

1. It wasn't raining, the officials are already worrying about a drought. We've already experienced some small wildfires because we haven't had rain for a couple of weeks (the small bit of snow last week doesn't count).
2. It was super warm and the air was dry enough that I was able to pull in the clothes after only 6-8 hours.
3. I could actually get back to the clothesline without sinking hip deep in mud.

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Some of my tomato "seedlings" have already outgrown their grow center. At about 18" (above the pots), they have grown way faster than I am used to. The peppers haven't outpaced themselves, compared to previous years, so I am at a loss as to what is going on.

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I went out and worked in the garden ( most years, it would be a morass of mud at this point). I got the shredded leaves from last fall spread over most of the garden area for use as mulch. Some of it it still frozen solid, so I will have to wait  to finish spreading it. I'll be using the upper end of the garden this year (rotational planting) so I am paying special attention to that area. while I am covering it in mulch to keep weeds from growing.

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And that is it for the weekend update - where we are loving the sunny and warm weather (except at night when it is still in the 20's - and not sunny), but wish for rain to help ease the spring leafs and blooms into being.

Comments

[Cop Car]

Sorry about your tomatoes, Bogie. The few times that I've tried to start tomatoes inside, they got leggy because they weren't getting enough light. You are so much more experienced at starting them, that I expect yours to come out perfectly. It IS curious that the peppers are doing fine. Call in Sherlock.

[bogie]

I don't have a problem with "leggy", I just have a problem with these guys trying to be super-plants. I suspect you try using a sunny windowsill to start plants inside. That just won't do the trick (I know some people clame to have success that way, but I've never actually seen it).

A grow light 2-3" from the leaf tops is just perfect. Plus, to get the stems to grow thicker, I shake the posts around, or blow on them for a couple of minutes (when the plants are still really small). I don't remember where I read this trick at, but it seems to help.

[Cop Car]

You are correct: I've never had a grow light (although you'll recall that your grandmother had lots of them in her basement!) Wonder how MY grandmother did it? She started her tomatoes in a leaky old enameled steel wash basin. Can't remember where she placed them--in the cellar? (This was in her old house. You probably don't even remember the last house that she had, do you? In her old house, Dad had just wired in overhead lights in each room and a few electrical outlets so that Grandma could plug in her radio in any of the four rooms. And she did buy an electric iron--a really small one. I think she had an electric stove in her later house, but I don't recall for sure.)

[Buffy]

We're expecting a return to cold weather here for the end of the week, so I'll get to use my fireplace at least once more before I have to clean it out for the season.

Hopefully, we'll have some rain along with that colder weather. Our little area has been a microcosm of drought for the past few years, so we can use all the rain we can get. We have clay based soil here, so I totally understand your comment about having to wait to get into the gardens.

[bogie]

We are in need of some rain to. We haven't had a drop since the flooding a month ago. Everyday, the local news reports 5-7 wildfires in the state (fortunately, they are a lot smaller around here than in the west).

The concrete jungle of Nasua hit 92 degrees yesterday (at home, the high 80's). Today we will be in the low 50's.