February weather in northern Minnesota can be huge swings between thawing and sunny, to blustery and sub zero. Tonight and tomorrow night, they’re calling for the latter, dipping down to twenty below. Brrrrrrr. But I’m still starting to plant peppers, a few containers at a time, so I can set out nice stocky plants in our hoop house in May. I’m growing some of our old standbys such as Giant Marconi — which I couldn’t buy seed for this year — and trying some new ones too. As always. I start my seeds in peat pellets in deep recycled plastic containers. I water them well and stick the whole works in a plastic bag to hold in the moisture, then they go up on the bookshelf next to our living room stove so they’re cozy and plenty warm (75-80 degrees). They germinate very quickly and come up extremely strong.

We have our teen-kitten, Mittens “the Monster,” so I’m going to have to protect the plants by putting them in our huge parrot cage. Unfortunately, our parrot was very old and passed on from a heart attack. If Mittens can get into that to destroy plants, I’ll be very surprised!

Getting my fingers into warm soil and smelling the moist earth makes me itch to get gardening….even if it is snowy and icy outdoors. And it makes winter pass so much faster too! — Jackie

3 COMMENTS

  1. i wanted a greenhouse to get my plants started,but didn’t have time to build one. i went to tractor supply this morning and bought a small one[already planted sweet bell and pimento peppers.] it will have to do until we can build one. i love this time of year.

  2. i wanted a greenhouse to get my plants started,but didn’t have time to build one. i went to tractor supply this morning and bought a small one[already planted sweet bell and pimento peppers.] it will have tom do until we can build one. i love this time of year.

  3. I have a cat that LOVES to eat seedlings. Last year I turned a rarely used shower (it’s way too small for us to shower in without hitting knees or elbows on the glass) into my seed starting area.I keep all my trays in there with a grow light hanging overhead. I use the removable shower attachment to water everything and there’s a door to keep the cat out. I really like my set up since it’s out of the way, it’s relatively warm, it keeps the cat out AND any water that splashes on the floor goes right down the drain. :-)

Comments are closed.