We nearly always get an April blizzard so when we passed through much of April with warm temperatures, we figured it missed us this year. Well… kind of. We didn’t get a blizzard but for the last several days we’ve been having wet, nasty snow.

I’ve been getting a lot done inside because of it. All of our tomatoes are now transplanted and I’m working on our peppers. I should finish them today and start the petunias which will hang off our front porch in hanging baskets, tomorrow.

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Will’s off to a farm auction today with truck and trailer so I’m wondering what new equipment will come wandering home. Well, not new equipment — rusty old equipment actually. But usable… sometimes with a little work (or a lot). But that’s how we manage to equip our homestead and still be able to afford it. Ah, homesteading! — Jackie

11 COMMENTS

  1. Cindy,

    I plant Wave petunias. This year it’s mixed Easy Waves as I’m going to try mixed colors for a change. Yep, it did get cold. But the beavers are saying it’s going to be a dry summer. Bummer.

  2. cpatek,

    We plant in peat pellets first as not all seeds will germinate and that way we’re not planting four seeds per pot and throwing away three of the plants if they all germinate. Also, the transplanting also gives them a huge boost. You wouldn’t believe the difference a week makes! Of course if you’re only planting a few tomatoes or peppers, you wouldn’t have to do all this fussing around, but this year we’ve planted 288 tomatoes and a third as many peppers.

  3. Deb,

    I’m happy to her you’re moved into your cabin. Don’t give up on your fruit trees yet. Sometimes they will survive a frost or two and surprise you. No, no babies yet. We bred our goats to kid late so they’d be on grass and we wouldn’t have to worry about cold babies as we have so much else to think about. We keep our tomatoes from getting too big by moving them to a cooler location such as down on the floor or out into our enclosed porch. The cooler plants are, the slower they grow.

  4. I’m sure a thousand other people have thought of this method for labeling seedlings, but just in case…thought I’d share with you what I do. Instead of the laborious job of writing out the full name of the plant on labels or on the styrofoam cups, I assign them a number. For example, Tomatoes are #1, Peppers are #2, Petunias #3. (Each specific plant gets its own number.) I keep the numbers listed in a notebook and always know which is what. I sure wish my tomatoes looked as good as yours. As always, thanks for all the information that you and Will provide.

  5. Your tomatoes look wonderful!! What kind of petunias do you plant that they hang in your baskets? I have learned how to finally start petunias by reading one of your old postings!! They are beautiful when blooming.

    We had 24 degrees all last night. Thank God I put all the tomato seedlings into the garage and not the greenhouse!! We are in WI so I can imagine how cold it got for you!!

    As always thank you for sharing. Say did those beavers forget to tell us that spring would be this cold?? wink, wink

  6. Just wondering why you plant everything in small containers and then up plant to larger ones? It seems it would be more time efficient to just plant into the larger cups.

  7. keep a fire burning, or embers, so that in the morning, just throwing dry twigs, and you again have a fire. I was wondering if something like that would put off enough heat to help a tree, I know it would take way too many barrels to help and entire orchard. Also sorry, someway I must have hit submit before I meant to. Jackie, I love the new to you mule, and I can just see Spencer and Hondo hitching a ride, to keep you company. Oh those doggy smiles!
    gen

  8. I use the barrels out of worn out washing machines as burn barrels/bbq grills.
    You have to be careful that the top ring of the tub does NOT have black powder that some companies used to help keep the spinning tub level. We took care, and drilled small holes in those rings, and flushed all the powder out with a water hose. Sorry, long story, but could you not use them as smudge? pots near the trees, to help keep them warm in a frost situation, after they were in bloom? We used the lids to 30 gallon alum trash cans as lids, with bricks on top, to keep wind from blowing any ash out. The holes in the wash tubs allow enough oxygen to

  9. Jackie and anyone else growing from seed, take time to brush your hand lightly over the tops of your growing plants every time you go past them – it will make the stems and root systems stronger.

  10. Your tomatoes look so healthy and strong. We moved to our little cabin nine days ago so I am behind by a couple weeks with starting seeds. I planted the seeds I purchased from you and Will and they were up in three days as I used a heating mat. I know you do not set your plants out for another month or more so how do you keep them from getting too big for the cups? We are having some cold nights here in Ohio and my peach tree which is in bloom will have the buds nipped and so will the apple trees. Boo hoo. Are any of the goats, cows or horses giving birth yet? I love your pictures of the new babies on your farm. Spring is so hopeful.

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