Thursday, February 9, 2012

Seeds are sprouting!

 This is my second favorite time of year in the garden (the first being harvest time.) Seeds are starting to sprout in my pots! It's always such a thrill to check on the pots and see tiny little new plants. Here are some of them.
Garlic in the garden
 About 1/3 of the garlic has sprouted, I spent a good part of the afternoon trying to convince the goats that it's not for them.

Peas in Aislyn's garden bed
 Each of the kids will eventually have their own garden beds, but so far only Aislyn has planted anything. She's very proud that she has 9 pea sprouts. 

Spinach
 This is my second year growing spinach. I love how easy it is to grow.

Cabbage
 My first cabbage seedlings (I don't eat it but Mike really wants sauerkraut.) For some reason I think they're very cheerful little plants.

Chives
 I have 14 little pots of chives, I don't think you can ever have too many chives.

Thyme
 Thyme, I have no idea what to do with it, but I had the seeds so I started them. I guess I need to look up some recipes.

The first garlic chive, poking up through the dirt
It's hard to see but there is a little tiny white sprout in the right side of the pot.

Tarragon
 I don't know what to do with tarragon either. I'll figure it out, eventually...

Sweet Marjoram
 Sweet Marjoram, never used it. I guess I need to expand my herb knowledge.

Summer savory
 Summer savory, never used it either but I do know that it's supposed to go good with potatoes.

 
 Of course, a lot of the seeds haven't come up yet. I'm still waiting on the artichokes, parsley, cilantro, dill and cumin. Lily helped me plant parsnips and salsify (oyster plant) yesterday. They don't normally transplant well but since they are in the newspaper pots it shouldn't be a problem.
Lily is proud of her work
 When I'm not working in the garden Lily and I have been spending lots of time outside with the animals, so now I will post a buttload of random animal pictures. Enjoy
My new baby, Boris

Lily on the rope swing

All 3 goats in one picture, it's a miracle

Bookends

My grow light setup, Mike built it for me from pallets and recycled 2x4s

 Boris is teaching Bruno who's the boss (ignore the dirty carpet, we live in the country)

Boris isn't sure what to make of the goats

The kids' garden beds, Gabe's hasn't been built yet

3 young hens and my young roo (he doesn't know yet that he's destined for the freezer)

Looking for yummy bugs

My Easter Eggers have finally finished molting and are pretty again

It's a garden bed, right?  It needed a headboard then (which will double as a trellis) 

This is what happens when I let Lily dress herself

I have no idea where he found this bone, it's almost bigger than he is


Lily gave me flowers

Moonshine is showing off for his girls

Time for a dust bath, they love the sand that we used to level a spot for the pool last summer


The goats are eating grass so Boris has to try it out

3 comments:

  1. Love this post. I guess I'll be learning a few things about some herbs too. I do use a few of them that you listed but they are like using salt and pepper to me. Nothing big really...

    Boris is sooooo cute! I hope that he's working out for you.

    Lily looks just fine to me and you can see that she is happy with how she looks.

    So, you just put the pots and all in the ground when they are ready? I would imagine that they would just blend in with the dirt.

    Keep taking those pictures....they are worth 1,000 words!!

    ~Jill

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  2. Ok so now you can add photography to your list of talents. The 1st pic of Boris, the 1st pic of the chickens, the whit rooster pic, and the one of Lily giving you flowers are seriously like calendar shots! You should enlarge them for your living room. Love this post. I was the pea grower in our family. Snow peas, snap peas and sweet peas :) mmmmmm now I am craving peas! So the paper pots. Do you just put them in the ground with the paper on them still?

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  3. Jill, Boris is doing really well. I'm working on getting him house broken and introducing him to all of the animals. So far so good. He did chase a goat once but she turned around an head butted him. He's already learned come, sit and shake and a firm "NO SIR!" gets him to stop chewing/ jumping/ whatever socially unacceptable thing he's doing. And, best of all, he keeps Bruno busy and kicks his butt if need be.

    Lily is adorable, she just cracks me up, a leotard and rain boots are perfectly acceptable play clothes in her mind, even if it is only 55° outside.

    Yes, the pots go directly into the ground. For the parsnips and salsify (root veggies) I will rip off the bottom, just to be sure the root will grow straight, but for the rest I just dig a hole big enough for the pot and pop it into the ground.

    Jen, thanks, I'm still using the camera you gave me. It's starting to like me a little...

    The newspaper pots disolve eventually and the roots can push right through. You can do the same thing by wrapping newspaper around a can, folding the bottom, and smashing it (the bottom) against a hard surface. There are tons of youtube videos on it.

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