I suppose for a gardener rain should be good. And it is. It’s nice to see so much green out the window, and driving past fields of green everywhere is a treat. But, the past few days it has been frustrating. We had intended to get beds ready to plant seedlings and start seeds, but it is just too wet. Little plants want to be planted, but with rainy days and cold nights hovering near freezing (just above), they’ve been going outside during the day, inside at night. At least they will be well “hardened off” before they go into the soil.
Tim has used the time to build the trellis for the peas, and yesterday we bought supplies for the steps he will make to descend to the lower level. Yesterday (in the rain) he built the top landing to get started.
I was able to give away several of the extra tomato and pepper plants I won’t be planting, to my neighbor. Hopefully they’ll do well for her!
Todoay there’s only a 20% chance of rain, and we plan to prepare Tier #1 and get the pea seeds planted. I also bought some rutabega seeds, which according to my research, grow well near peas, and I can start them now, too. I’ve started the cucumber seeds indoors, to be planted in that same section with the peas and rutabegas.
I read portions of an ebook about starting seedlings in the soil blocker, and the author suggests that many things traditionally only sown outside can be sown in the blockers, because their roots won’t be disturbed when planting. (See: “Transplants in Soil Blocks”) Maybe I’ll try getting a few things started that way. He also talks about quite a few things that can be “multiplanted” in the soil blocks, several seeds together. Maybe I’ll try a few that way, (corn, broccoli, onions) just to see how they work for comparison with the ones I’ve already started one in each block. That way next year I’ll have a better idea of what will be the best course of action. I have plenty of seeds, I may as well try a few different methods!