cold now, thinking ahead for spring plantings

[songbird]

with plenty of snow and cold this past week i think today was the fourth day in a row we had to shovel and the most snowfall in a single event (about 8 inches or about 15cm).

this morning i got out there early to shovel the snow as i had to run some errands and we were also hoping to get the propane tank refilled.

as it turned out the propane truck went past me as i was heading into town for the errands and the driver was said to have been happy that we shovelled the pathway for him to get to the tank to refill it.

the sun was very bright on the snow and we've had so much snow that tha back yard is pretty well topped up. this afternoon i was looking at it and could not see a single animal track anyplace.

this evening's forecast is supposed to be down to -8F or about -22C. that will be the coldest evening so far if it actually turns out.

in the meantime i'm working on some indoor projects and starting to think ahead to spring planting.

aside from the various beans i'd like to try out and all the bean projects i have going i'm also hoping to see if i can get some adzuki beans to grow and to cross breed.

i want to plant more edible pod peas early to increase the production and enjoyment. i sure liked the large pods i had last year and hope to expand my dry pea supply of those too for future replantings. they were good and crunchy and grew so easy and gave plenty of seeds. that has not been common in the past so to find one that grows here was a great find.

as for indoor projects i've been trying to get my photography stuff set up and going and that is coming along, but still a ways to go. i did improve one aspect of the whole process by getting a colorimeter and changing some display settings which have helped actually show more of the colors. still though i think in the next few years i'll probably step up to a better monitor as this one is not as good as it might be.

are you keeping warm? got any new plans for the coming season?

here i think mostly we'll be planting about the same kinds of plants as before with only a few exceptions. we've found a mix and schedule of plants that works for us so i don't want to mess with success too much. :)

songbird

[derald]

Not a problem. Early afternoon temp in low 60s under unifgorm overcast with scattered very light rain down here in the "sunshine" state.

Nope. just hoping to get some of the garden planted before too late. But there's always okra....

[songbird]

heh, overnight low was -8F, so we're going to be 15 degrees warmer than that this evening.

okra. it seems that the most popular way for people to eat it is friend, is that true with you too? :)

songbird

[songbird]

songbird wrote: ...

obviously meant "fried", my eyes are tired these days and i'm not catching the typoes as well as i used to. :)

songbird

[derald]

yep.

[Pavel314]

It's been colder than usual here in Maryland but no single digits, just days on end below freezing. My wife has been working in the greenhouse for about an hour a day, planting seeds in flats to get ready for spring. We've had more citrus fruit than usual this winter. Otherwise, just waiting for spring.

Paul

[songbird]

Pavel314 wrote: ...

dirt therapy is always good for the soul even in the middle of winter. :)

songbird

[rust buckett]

Being from Texas I've eaten a lot okra in my life. I do love fried okra, but I think my favorite might actually be pickled. It's hard to say. I also really like it right off the plant. It's great cooked whole and salted in a little oil in a skillet. About the only way I don't really like it is boiled. It gets so slimey. I know you rinse it, but that's too much effort.

[songbird]

rust buckett wrote: ...

i don't really seem to mind it about any way with fried being the most popular to many people. since i can eat oatmeal i can handle a bit of okra if it is cooked up and a bit slimy. doesn't bother me. we're not much for growing it here ourselves so most experience i have with it is remote. my brother grows some if he manages to put in a garden.

songbird

[Snag]

I should check in here more often ... we've just came out of a sub-zero spell mixed with a foot of snow . Both unusual for this area . I spent a couple of hours yesterday sorting through my seeds and planting 66 cells of assorted veggies for planting in late April . The rest of the stuff I have planned will also come from my stock of saved seeds . I've heard that seeds are one of those things that are in high demand and getting hard to find . If I buy anything it will be onion sets and maybe some seed potatoes .

[Ralph Mowery]

As I only plant a few things other than about a dozen or so tomatoes I have been ordering my seeds from this place for the last few years. Usually around December.

Most of the things I plant are some hybrids that I can not save the seeds from and know what will actually come up if anything.

I started ordering the seeds because I could not find some of them or plants locally whenI wanted them. I now have 6 tomato plants up a few inches that were planted near the first of Feb. I will put some more seeds in cups in about another week. They should go in the ground about the 3rd week in April as I am in the middle of NC.

[songbird]

check around for seed libraries and seed saving organisations or people in your area. our local library has one going now, but i'm not sure how many people are using it. i need to check it next time i go into town to see if anything i've donated is out and needs to be restocked.

or start your own seed swap. :) the large one that i've attended and given away a lot of bean seeds and other things has been cancelled this year so that's sad, but hopefully it will be back next year.

songbird

[Snag]

I prefer to grow heirloom varieties , just because they almost always breed true . I'm also looking at the 3rd week of April or so , weather permitting .

[Snag]

We usually have a seed swap meet here in February , but last year we didn't , probably not this year either . That's OK though , I have seed for all the stuff we usually plant . I did plant some stuff this year that I usually don't , like 6 cells of Osage Orange . It's a very useful plant around a survivalist homestead ... not that we're exactly survivalists , but I gathered the seeds a couple of years ago just to see if I could get it to grow .