Spring Fever Hits Early

Most gardeners who live in snow country can recite all the garden advantages of snowcover: protection of plant roots, source of moisture, etc., etc., etc..

I've decided to add another advantage.  The snow that covers the bare ground helps to moderate our desire to get out and plant something.  Since early December  I've been going through moderate to advanced stages of SPRING FEVER (depending on how sunny the day is).

I finally gave in.  I found a bag of potting soil, some appropriate sized containers and proceeded to pot up 3 containers of tulip bulbs.  Two of the containers are in the unheated sunroom and the third container went to the unheated greenhouse.  At this time of year the sunroom gets more sun than the greenhouse.  I think the growth comparison between the two environments will be interesting to chart, plus it will be a good discipline to keep a garden journal current.

In retrospect I'm sorry I planted them at the same depth that is recommended for the in-ground garden planting.  I guess, in a way, I defeated my purpose of wanting to watch something grow.  By planting so deep, I still have a long wait for bloom time!

Once I got that process clear in my head I decided on going to a more reliable plan B.  I went back to the old practice of sprouting edible seeds in a glass jar.  Thankfully in my frenzy to start down-sizing the kitchen "stuff" I hadn't disposed of my green mesh sprouter lid that fits on a wide mouth pint canning jar.

Please be very clear these are not the seeds you plant in your garden that grow into vegetables.  The seeds are sprouting seeds usually found in health food stores or health food sections of markets.

The edible seeds sprout through a process of rinsing and draining the seeds 3 times a day for approximately 4-5 days.  The end result is a crunchy, nutritious addition to a salad or sandwich.  The mix I am growing is called a Bean Salad organic mix.

My self imposed sprouting therapy should help me maintain a healthy mental state until it's time to start the tomato seeds.  I received notice that my seeds have been shipped so now I have to overcome the temptation of starting --just a few--to experiment with.