This is the time of year when Spring teases us with a few days of winter thawing and then snaps right back to freezing temperatures again. The excitement of spring starts much earlier for me, though. It’s when the seed catalogs arrive at our doorstep painted in a chimera of rainbow colors, that my mind fast forwards to the glorious spectacle which is the garden at it’s summer peak. The long list is formed and cut down to the varieties suited best to the climate and soil and those of the curio nature, to which we must try our hands at. Come January seeds arrive full of promise of greener days to come.
Anyone who thinks gardening begins in the spring and ends in the fall is missing the best part of the whole year; for gardening begins in January with the dream. –Josephine Nuese
Sowing begins as early as mid January for the fickle hot pepper seeds that can take weeks to germinate. We’ve planted our staple habaneros, and are expanding the selection to some of the hottest peppers in the world. Heirloom varieties including Bhut Jolokia (aka ghost pepper), Trinidadian Moruga Scorpion & Carolina Reaper. It took a few tries for some of the varieties to sprout, but they are looking strong and healthy.
More recently we sowed artichoke seeds and a variety of heirloom tomatoes that are just tiny fuzzy baby sprouts right now. It’s amazing what a tiny seed has the potential to accomplish. These plants will reach heights taller than myself and feed us with flavorful sun ripened plump juicy fruits off the vine. I’m particularly excited to try the varieties from Wild Boar Farms including a dark blueish-purple cherry variety called Blueberries.
Soon we will be readying the garden beds for early crops of radish, peas, carrot and beets. With each day that grows warmer the garden’s call grows louder, beckoning us to get our hands dirty in her dark musty earth.
The garden journal will become a regular feature here during the growing and harvesting season. We’re also getting bees (yay!), and I will be sharing that experience in the garden journal as well. If you have any questions or want to talk gardening, comment beow or email me fareisle(at)gmail.com.
Michaela A.
BEES! How cool! So does that mean you’ll have honey to share? Have fun with being a beekeeper and stay safe! Bee stings are the worst..
Kaity Farrell
I’m so excited to have bees buzzing and working around the garden! We’re starting small so the bees will keep the honey they make for their winter stores. Possibly next year if all goes well!
Michaela A.
It sounds superb to me either way!