Snowing-again

Yep, ANOTHER snowstorm! The weather radio, which we live by, is calling for a major winter storm with up to 14 inches of blowing, heavy, wet snow falling today, tonight, and tomorrow. Sigh. Just when we’ve been enjoying temperatures of 40 degrees above, sunny, and melting. It felt like spring.

So we went into the “getting ready for the blast” mode: give extra hay and bedding for the critters, fill the chicken feeder, get to town and get extra gas for the plow truck and bulldozer, not to mention the snow blower. And the snow is starting to fall heavily. Maybe I’ll bake bread. I always feel like cooking when it’s storming. Blizzards make me hungry!

But to perk us up, we found that our very first peppers of the year have germinated! The Early Jalapeños were, indeed, early! They popped up in seven days. So cool.

Peppers-popped

In two weeks I’ll be starting our tomatoes. As our fledgling seed business is doing so well, we’ve decided to grow and save seed for more than 25 heirloom, open-pollinated tomatoes this year in addition to several other crops such as beans, squash, and cucumbers. (here’s still plenty of seed left so if you’re thinking about ordering from us, please feel free to click on the button above to see what we have. And we have quite a bit of all of the seed offered (even the Bill Bean tomatoes, which I thought I was out of but then discovered I’d saved another envelope of them). Spring WILL come this year; I promise. — Jackie

13 COMMENTS

  1. All,

    To find the info about the seeds, get out of the comments section as the box doesn’t show there; go back to the regular blog listing.

  2. Margo,

    Just scroll up to the top of the blog. The first box is about our homestead seminar this June. The second green box is about our homestead seeds. Just click on the pdf link and you’ll see our list of seeds offered, prices and our address. Let me know if you can’t work it through and I’ll help.

  3. Pat,

    We start our pepper and tomato seeds in Jiffy 7 extra large peat pellets. Then we transplant the pellet and growing plant into large styrofoam cups with Pro Mix seed starting soil. We’ve also started the seeds in smaller, deep containers, in Pro Mix and transplanted into the styrofoam cups. I’ve used the same cups for several years and the plants seem to love them. Much more than six packs.

  4. Barb,

    Just scroll up to the green box under “heirloom seeds” right below the box about our homestead seminar and click on the pdf link. We’ll be happy to help you fill your order!

  5. Rose Kelley,

    Tomatoes are pretty much self pollinating. To save seed from open pollinated varieties, we separate the plants so that when big, the branches don’t touch their neighbors or even get close. That seems to work for us.
    Beans are partly self pollinating and partly insect pollinated. Usually if you separate the varieties by many feet they won’t cross, especially if you grow a taller crop inbetween them.

  6. Cindy,

    As we grow out our peppers slowly after they’re about 4″ tall, they develop sturdy stems and roots and don’t begin to bloom, which sets them back when they’re transplanted. We don’t set them out until late May and that’s in hoop houses with heat given if frost threatens. Yes, I’ll start my onions this week as they, too, grow slower but stockier in the cooler temps in our enclosed porch after they’re started first next to the wood stove to germinate, then moved to the greenhouse.
    I truly hope everyone has great crops from our seeds. It’s our biggest wish!
    Yep, I’ll bet those beavers are laughing; they haven’t been wrong yet. Unlike the forcasts I heard from educated people.

  7. What kind of pots are you starting your pepper seeds in? I’m always looking for alternatives to old plastic six-packs!

  8. Hi, Jackie; I couldn’t find the button to click on to see which seeds you still have. I figure the best way to find it is to send you an email, because I know that it is the first thing I will see when I click on submit comments, lol. I do want to make an order, so just in case it doesn’t suddenly appear, could you tell me where the link is? Thank you!

  9. Oh, I’m so jealous! My peppers are not up yet but they are in soil so any day now. I can’t wait for new green things at my house too.

  10. Goodness you must be sick of snow! Spring is peeking it’s head around the corner here in Illinois so hopefully it will head your way soon!

  11. Jackie, I know we have to keep the squash seperate from other squash, but what about the tomatoes and beans, I bought provider beans, thanks for the info.

  12. Your peppers look great. It is an encouragement to see green!! How come you start peppers and tomatoes so early? They would be big enough to go outside in April? Have you started onion seeds yet? I believe your seed business is going so well because you are honest and give a good clean product that is what you say! I appreciate my order I received from you. Let us all know when you see the beavers again and what they want us to know about spring and summer . I bet they are laughing their tails off right now!!! Oh by the way , I saw a robin in our maple tree yesterday right when the sleet and rain came back. Then the big wind blew and she took off. I wonder what they thought they would eat.

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