Family Day Potage Palaver (seeding stuff)

Hope you all are having a really lovely long weekend, working in your gardens, taking daytrips to the beach, having picnics, or maybe wienie/marshmallow roasts.

I am working on cleaning and tidying the shop today, in readiness for the upcoming workshops (see the workshop link in the webpage tabs above). Today is a wee bit too cool for wimpy ole me, am more than happy to be puttering around indoors.    

We have been super blessed to have a mostly sunny and warm February thus far. Snow, cold, kinda miserable is what we usually tend to have for weather in February so I guess we cannot complain too much... though I heard that some of you woke up to a skiff of snow this morning, here on the island : ( 

It is still early days, too early for veggie transplants outside yet though you can be sowing hardy greens, radishes, and onions under cover in an unheated greenhouse, hoophouse, or fleece covered bed if you are itching to something going. 

Keep in mind that seeds take much longer to germinate when the soil is cold  so sometimes waiting that couple of extra weeks makes all the difference in your success rate. Tons of time yet ; ) Want to do a test? Toss in a few seeds now and then sow a few of the exact same seeds in two weeks time. See what happens. I have found that, often, the later sown seeds will quickly and easily surpass the early sown ones. 

Here are charts from West Coat Seeds on when to start sowing and growing in your area... Regional Planting Charts – West Coast Seeds

Here on the west coast, for those of you who like to grow your own seedlings to plant out later, here is a growing timeline from Charles Dowding in the UK, where they have weather similar to ours. Sowing Timeline for Vegetables - Charles Dowding

I prefer to direct sow as much as possible, letting mother nature do all the work. Not sure if this means I am lazy, thrifty, or what, haha. I tend to find prestarting very tedious so prefer to wait a bit longer and just sow the seeds directly into the garden and prestart warm weather plants like tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and maybe a few flowers. Now... some people really enjoy starting them indoors for that few weeks head start and that is great, too. You do what makes you happy : ) 

So, here is one more article from the UK with what to sow and grow this month. She tells you exactly what you can direct sow now, what to prestart, and what to start under cover Seeds of Love: what to sow in February - Stephanie Hafferty (nodighome.com)

Check out these other great links I found this week.... 

Here is an article about growing great tomatoes that is worth the read. I disagree about the last item but will leave that conversation for another time, closer to the date.  The-Tomato-Care-Checklist-2.pdf (joegardener.com)

This is a fun article for us eco-friendly gardeners. A New Garden Ethic | Making Better Choices for the Planet | joegardener®

After you have read that one, check out this fantastic article on how to get started with that garden. I think it looks absolutely fabulous and think of all the work you will save yourself. How to design an eco friendly garden - The English Garden

Variegated Pink Eureka Lemon 

Are you interested in growing assorted citrus but not sure where to get them from? This nursery has everything you can possibly imagine, in various sizes to fit your pocket book. Great Citrus & Rare Fruit Pre-Order (phoenixperennials.com)

Have a greenhouse? Building a greenhouse? Things to implement, add, or prepare before the spring craziness begins. Great advice. Prepare Your Greenhouse for Spring - BBC Gardeners World Magazine

I hope you have enjoyed this week's links. Reading these articles helps me settle my mind and revel in what others have going on in their gardens. Things are pretty crazy around here with spring just around the corner. Lots to do in both the greenhouse and shop, and in the office, plus never ending yardwork and a bathroom reno going on. Hoping things are calmer, cleaner, and more organized at your house ; ) 

Tulips in my April cutting garden last year.    

Looking forward to seeing you all very soon ~ Tanja