After only a week’s time, our peppers are popping up like crazy. They seem to love the damp peat pellets, container covered with a plastic bag, and the warmth behind our wood stove in the living room. It’s amazing how much the difference in germination is, compared to, say, sitting them somewhere at room temperature. Yes, the house is warm. But peppers germinate best in very warm temperatures, from 80-90 degrees F. Couple that with moisture and they really pop! In the past, I’ve had peppers sit around for a month’s time where I thought it was warm. I guess they had other opinions about that.
Now I’ve got to get my petunias and pansies started. I have three different petunias and one pansy variety to put in. I don’t use the peat pellets for these tiny seeds. Instead, I use a small, deep plastic container with ProMix in it and lightly sprinkle the seeds on top and only water them in, leaving them pretty much on the surface. Like the peppers, I put the containers in plastic bags, not tied shut so they can breathe, and set them behind the wood stove. When they’re big enough to handle, I’ll carefully separate them out and transplant them into 4-inch pots to grow on.
Yesterday, Will took his big red diesel truck down, following Drew to his apartment. They loaded up both the truck and Drew’s car. It took all day as the Twin Cities is a four-hour drive from us, one way. Drew is now officially moved in, living off grid and wanting to learn how to homestead.
Today, he and Will are busy packing seeds while I get this blog installment done. We’ve been getting a lot of orders, which keeps us busy. I think it’s a great thing that so many folks are growing a lot of their own food, especially with the prices at the stores and all the chemicals in today’s food. Both Will and I have quit eating any store-bought lettuce, as we can sure taste chemicals in that. I’d hate to know what’s in everything else. I read the label on a Banquet turkey pot pie. I’d made a chicken pot pie the other night and just thought I’d see. Holy cow! There are dozens of things in that store pie that I have never heard of! Mine had crust, chicken, broth, flour, spices, carrots, peas, potatoes, onions and mushrooms, all from our homestead. No chemicals or strange ingredients. Whew! I can’t believe what people eat every day in this modern world. — Jackie
