Something's fishy

I am behind schedule with my seedlings (again). My Roma tomatoes have been growing their first true leaves for almost a week and I am supposed to feed them with half strength fertilizer. Luckily, my very good friends from Mississauga, Linda and Gerry, had given me some organic fertilizer the last time they came down for a visit. Shown here- see background- is the fish emulsion I used to feed these seedlings. And yes, it does smell like fish!


The bottom picture shows the 'Tiny Tim' cherry tomatoes. Note that the hand made newspaper pots are holding their shape and haven't self-composted yet. The taller containers are the "losers" Roll-up- the-Rim cups.

Spring Training

Bob cleaned and prepped our bicycles yesterday. It was a sunny 2 degree C weather plus the windchill factor. We dressed warmly and braved the chilled air. We chose a route with a long incline to train those quads that had gone soft and perhaps encased with a few layers of adipose tissue! That was approximately 8 kms both ways. The goal is that we have to get ready for our Roaming Riders bike trips which average 30 kms./trip, in 3 weeks.

A little bit of a background. Bob and I joined a bicycling group, The Roaming Riders, last year. Almost all the members are retired, anywhere in their 50's (us, for example) to their 80's. Most of them have been doing this for a few years, some go for 100 kms./week ride instead of walking, the oldest member goes for an extra spin at a velodrome after riding with us! Our scheduled rides are on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Mondays are usually out of town; Wednesday rides are trail/city combination.

With our organizing/renovating last year, we basically winged it. This year, I hope to be able to ride those hills without slowing anybody down.

Heading for an Early Spring

Happy Easter to you all! Spring is just around the corner but with a greenhouse, I am heading for an early Spring.

I have been quilting the last few days while listening to a digital book: David Baldacci's Camel Club. The suspense got to me and I couldn't "put the book down". By the time I checked on the plants, the Roma tomatoes are 2'' tall and the beets are even taller! So, I had to scramble for supplies to transplant them. I had to get some potting soil, made some labels out of a coke can and an old plastic membership card by cutting them in strips, and made pots from newspapers.

Betty, a friend (way back from nursing school) had mentioned about a "Potmaker" tool to make her own pots. I think it's meant for seed starters but I made 3" pots from newspapers using a soup can. Sitting on a tray, it's manageable moving them around. Will they last until May 17th (our official last frost)? I hope so; otherwise, I'll have a big mess to clean up!



There were different reusable containers I saved from the recycle box: cookie packaging, take-out roast chicken container, milk cartons cut to about 4" tall (not shown). The individual round & square ones I bought from the Garden Club's sale table-about50 pots for 75 cents.


My total transplant inventory count: Roma tomatoes 29, 'Tiny Tim' cherry tomatoes 30, Beets 8 (all the seeds were viable but I decided to discard them & direct sow more when the time comes), Basil 41, Lavender 14, Zinnia 2/12, and Coleus 0/12. The 2 annuals were old but I thought I'd see if they survived being in the fridge for years!

Getting greener

I'd like to think that I am more environmentally conscious now than 10 years ago. There are more opportunities to "go green" beyond recycling nowadays: Reuse- check. Reduce - check. Decreasing fossil fuel dependency- well, this is an ongoing contentious subject as we continue to hang on to 2 vehicles: the Jetta TDI's fuel efficiency is canceled by the mini van. Energy conservation-we replaced 95% 0f the incandescent with fluorescent bulbs & all our appliances are tagged with Energy Star. Supporting organic, sustainable and/or locally grown foods- the Farmer's market is open all year round but I also plan to check out any CSA in this region.

What does a pair of ankle socks have to do with this? Well, I just demonstrated how some leftover yarn can make another pair. (Note the 2 kinds of yarn- color print + beige yarn used for the toes.) All the bits of yarn (not enough to make anything) that remain I save in a plastic mesh bag (the ones onions come in) ,with my dryer lint, bits of quilting thread, you get the idea. I leave this outside where the birds can use them for their nests.


A bit much, you think? I think our world needs and deserves every thoughtful gesture on our part.

Finding time

It's been said many times how important it is for one's well-being to set aside a little time for oneself. And that includes unemployed people like me.

Although I no longer get up in the morning with an alarm clock (except for those times I have to be out of town), I still have to manage my time if I want to accomplish anything. So, once again I find myself engaging in the art of" multi-tasking".

When we lived in Kitchener, Ontario, I used to belong to a wonderful quilting group at FHUC . Since we moved to Brantford, I haven't found a quilting group so, it's been lonely quilting on my own. Then I discovered the wonderful world of digital library where I have novels, self help books, etc. downloaded right in my computer! That's how I found time to "read" and quilt at the same time. When I reach my maximum of 5 books/2 weeks (I usually go through them in about a week), I switch to CBC audio podcasts...But I still miss visiting with my quilting buddies.

Knitting is another activity when I can listen at the same time.... I tried reading a book while I was on my stepper but I found that too wobbly. I guess there's a limit to multi-tasking after all!

The sprouts are coming!

Day 6

So, these are the basil sprouts; they certainly all look healthy to me. According to my instructions, they will need to be thinned when they are about 1" long. It will be difficult to choose which ones to clip off when I thin them!


These are the Roma tomatoes. They are the tallest amongst the seedlings. Ooops...I was going to take a ruler when I took these pictures...I only planted 2 tiny seeds in each "jiffy pot" so they don't have to worry about survival of the fittest.




Beets (Early Wonder): I think I made a mistake planting these indoors so, I may have to directly sow them outdoors as suggested in the link. Since I don't have the heart to toss them out even in my compost, I will go ahead and follow through with these guys so then I can compare between the indoor and outdoor batches.

As a neophyte with this "high tech" greenhousing, I am enjoying all that it entails and encourage all you gardeners or wanabee gardeners to join me & do the same.

Gardening in March

March 11th
Let it snow; these seeds don't care!
My hubby Bob built a warmer box so the mini greenhouse tray fits on top. The box has 4 sides, no top or bottom- all made from scrap lumber.There's a 25 watt bulb inserted through a hole made in one of the sides (plugged in 24 hrs). Then, a hanging 48 inch double fluorescent light fixture was installed. There-an instant heated greenhouse!

March 14th

Look at these babies; some have grown 1mm in less than 72 hrs! These are basil. I also planted Roma & cherry tomatoes, beets, Lavender, zinnias and coleus but they're camera shy right now. More veggies and perennials to plant later. It's easy to get carried away but the availability of light sources really limits the numbers!



P.S. After I had originally posted this , I realized that I failed to mention where I got this idea of building a warmer box.

At the March meeting of the Brantford Master Gardeners, one of the members, Kay Suzuki, talked about starting seeds indoors with this technique which she has successfully used for years. I was inspired immediately! Thanks, Kay.

Intro

A good day to start a blog. I had gone to an Adult Program at the local library last evening where the presented topic was "Blogging Craze" by Laurier Brantford students.

I thought that this may be a good idea to share "things" with friends and families. The option is theirs whether to find out about what's going on with me! If you do visit my blog, I invite you to add your comments so I can hear from you, too!

Now that I have decided to retire early, I do have more time to learn and try out new things so, this is one of them.

Gardening is another...and quilting...and reading... More later.