Spring Cleaning
Its almost that time! I have ordered all my seeds and started going through everything that I have left over from last year. So many things to plant and even some new plants to try this year.
This past weekend I decided to write down everything I have for seeds (new and left overs from last year) and what time to start planting them. Are they direct seeds or transplants?, and how far away from the frost date should they be started? My last frost date is April 23rd which is so late i feel like! But none the less, some plants I have to start as early as mid-February and some as late as May 1st!
This year one of my goals is to plant less seeds of one variety and more of a variety of many plants. I planted so many eggplants last year but only few I was able to harvest compared to not planting any cucumber. This year I'm dialing down on how many seeds I start and see if they germinate. If they don't appear after when their suppose to I will plant another batch, etc. I’m aiming to plant at least 12 of everything.
I'm planning on having a wide variety of flowers for my bees and a wide variety of vegetables for myself :)
Every year I tend to focus on something different. Last year it was sunflowers and this year I have moved towards the plant Zinnia. I grew one last year and I was so amazed by it that I decided to grow a handful of different varieties of just that flower.
One of my Zinnias from this past year (2017)
All my Zinnia Seeds came from Johnny’s Seeds:
Zinderella Peach
I also have a wall of alliums which I will mix into as well with Larkspur and cosmos.
One of my larkspurs
One of my cosmos
I will also mix in some dahlias I bought from Floret Farms. I ordered: Otto's Thrill, Myrtle’s Folly, Hamari Gold, Belle of Barmera, Beatrice and Bacardi.
Beatrice
Can’t wait to get started!
Key to organization... Plant markers! Making sure that every seedling set has a plant marker is key, and you will thank yourself later knowing what is what when planting in your garden. If its a vegetable or flower you plan on sowing every year, then I suggest you invest in some permanent plant markers. I recommend going on Etsy to see hand made products, I purchased mine from One Girl's Pottery. They came out beautifully and have lasted for years!
