Challenges of winter

Having never attempted to grow plants through the winter, I just really had no idea what to expect. I did have some preconceived notions but those were just coming from what I have read in the past. At first, there was success and admittedly, a real uptick in hope. So I expanded the experiment to see if I cold replicate the nascent results of my initial foray into winter/greenhouse gardening.
Sadly, at this point, the newly planted seeds have yet to show themselves. I am not yet ready to throw in the towel as I believe there still is a good chance that they will come to fruition. I say that because, when it comes to vegetable gardening, I have developed a strong understanding that not everything works on our timetables. Additionally, the recent weather is much more wintery than when I planted the first crops. Our lows have been into the mid 20's the last few nights as has been the temperature in the greenhouse given it is unheated. I am relying on the fact that the seeds "know" what to do and are usually pretty resilient.
The established plants seem to be pretty hardy and are making progress albeit at a slower pace. I believe this is the pace they set during winter. As can be seen below, the lettuce plants seem the most vibrant as the spinach plants are just really struggling. The spinach seems to have started to grow again in the last couple of days so I will just hope they have rebounded.
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Additionally, even though the temps are lower now, the newly planted pots are continuing to dry out so I am having to water them frequently(as seen below). And, the pots that are in the northwest corner of the greenhouse seem to dry out much faster than even the ones right next to them. I can rule out a soil difference as they all had the same soil mix. It most likely has something to do with the amount of sun they receive as these pots would get a little more sun on a clear day. It's just something I have to deal with and keep an eye on. 

As spring approaches, I have been looking for ways to make the most of what areas I have. I have the greenhouse, the 226 sq. ft. of garden plots and the structure I have left unplanted. As I grow most of my own seedlings and augment with heirloom plants from a few select nurseries, I have been contemplating how I can increase my seedlings this year. And, it hit me. I have a garage that is detached and unheated. I have been tracking the current temps in it and it seems to be a little warmer than the greenhouse. No big surprise there. But, in about a month, the sun will be stronger and the garage probably will be warmer. So I have begun to clear the area on one of the south facing shelves. I put clear plastic over the two windows above the shelf to stop the wind coming through. It probably will have enough warmth to get the seedlings started so I can transfer them into the greenhouse to harden them off. It's a new project that should keep me even busier.
On a side note, I was fortunate enough to be able to visit one of my favorite seed stores in Maryland. It's called Meyer Seeds and is close to downtown Baltimore. They have been around for a very long time. When you go in the store, you take a big step back in time. The decor reminds me of pictures of stores in the 1950's. I had the pleasure to speak with a gentleman who was able to point me to an almost fail safe cucumber given it is self pollinating and who then pointed out that my problem was most likely the cucumber beetle. He gave me a fix for that to boot! He also assured me that they have stock in all seeds as I questioned him about that given reports that some seed companies were expecting some spot shortages this year. He then sold me peas and beans in bulk and advised I use an inoculant before planting the peas.
It was a great visit there and I look forward to going back there during planting season to get organic based sprays they have. It's always a treat to speak to someone else who knows your passion and problems. They rate high on my list on both.
Well, that's all I have for now. Hopefully, you are starting to get the bug to plant. It certainly wont be long now. Until next time, Happy Gardening!

Tomatoes!!!

I started 16 tomatoes from seed this past Wednesday.  I used the Jiffy seed pellet system you can find at almost any home improvement store and maybe a few grocery stores.  Having never used them before, there was a little intrepidation on my part.  So, I followed their instructions and set my seed in each moistened pelet and covered them with the supplied lid.  It made a mini greenhouse that held the moisture in.  I placed the greenhouse on top of our refrigerator and let them sit there until Friday night.
At that point, there was only one packet that had shown a shoot coming up out of it.  I decided to put them into a warming greenhouse seed starter to give them heat to help along the process.  I have had that system for probably 8 years so far.  So, I put them into the warming tray without the top and filled the warmer bed with water on Friday night.  As can be seen from the picture below, there was great progress made over the weekend.

There are 15 of 16 pellets that have plants growing from them.  Given there are various types of tomaotes here, I am pretty sure all will be showing growth within the next day or so.  Now, I have to put these under light in order to allow them the necessary light to grow.  I will wait another day or so then transfer the set of these to the lights.  They will need lots of light - approximately 12-14 hours a day.
I started another set of 18 paste tomatoes and another set of 6 mixed variety tomaotes last night. They can be seen in the backround of the picture above.  My plan is to also begin pepper plants once the tomatoes are moved under light so I can use the warmer for them.  One thing at a time.
It may seem that 40 tomatoes are a lot and I have to admit, it is.  Last year I had 3 paste tomato plants and the they gave an uneven harvest so I am hoping the 18 will give us enough to put up in the fall.  I have never done that before so hopefully we will get the harvest we need and we can learn how to put them up for winter use.
On another note, I went out to check on the state of my little salad garden I have had over the winter. Much to my surprise, they came through the snow and cold temps with great result.  As can been below, all the plants are still healthy at this point.  Even the mesclun lettuce in the lower right corner looked ok and is showing sings of producing a second set of lettuce.

We have had several salads from this bed over the last few weeks.  I'll continue to water and see if we can get pehaps another salad or two before I dig it up for the sping.  I was able to get water from my now three filled 55 gallon water barrels.

The water was cold but it was clean.  And, it's free!  I usually dont have my barrels up and running this early but last year, we had tons of rain until the end of May then pratically nothing.  So, I decided to set them up and we have had several long rainy days so now, they are full.
Another item of interest for me and hopefully you is that my winter rye has taken off quite well this Spring.  As you will notice, it has grown a lot since the last time I looked at it.

It's a lot thicker and taller than my last visit which means I will have more green manure than I anticipated I would have had at this point.  Credit the unusually warm weather and a lack of aprreciable sonwfall.  Not really sure I should be happy about that given the beneficial effects cold weather and snow have on the pest populations around here.  But, I will take what God gives.
That's all I have at this time.  The new season is getting underway and that makes a gardening nut like myself very happy.  Until next time, Happy Gardening everyone.

Update

We returned to normal weather for the last 3 days.  We were supposed to get snow/ice on Saturday but it amounted to nothing.  One of these times, I do believe we will actually get what the forecast is calling for us to get.  There really isn't a whole lot to do at this point in the garden.  I have been keeping my small winter garden growing.  I went out today to peek in given it was in the 40"s.
The plants seem to be doing better than I expected given the colder temps we have been having.  I am actually quite excited that the lettuce plants have had a resurgence.  I may even get to eat a salad in the near future which would be a really cool treat.  As can be seen in the picture, the Mesclun mix in the bottom right square is really growing well.  The spinach in the middle and the carrots and onions in the top rows have shown more progress this week than the previous weeks.  All in all, the vegetables are doing much better than I even thought possible.  The next couple of weeks should be the deciding factor.

Besides maintaining this bed, I have been busy cleaning my seed starting equipment to get the early
plants started.  I clean them even though I did that at the end of last season to insure there is no disease or bacteria present.  It's not the easiest to grow your own plants but it allows me to have the selection of plants I like.  It takes a constant vigilance to make sure everything is progressing as needed.
Well, that's all for this Sunday.  I don't know about anyone else, but I am starting to get a little excited about the upcoming season for new reasons.  I will elaborate on my reasons in a subsequent post.  So, until next time, happy gardening everyone!