Fall/Winter Garden Log -- February 12, 2017

Things are moving along in the garden when the sun is out.  I'm so tired of winter and we are both ready for more sun. These dreary grey days are getting old.  

The baby onions are coming along.  I fed them some sea weed fertilizer yesterday.  They should be ready to put out in the garden by end of March.  These are Flat of Italy and Stuttgarter onions.

John is working on making a permanent strawberry patch over what used to be the turkey pen (or I guess it was our first chicken pen.) Anyway, he pulled the whole thing down a few weeks ago since the turkeys have a new pen down in the chicken yard. He's fencing it in to keep the armadillo and other varmints out.  He put in 10 new roots and transplanted his Ever-bearing Strawberries (there were 6, I think) to this new area.  I'll be planting the four Loquat trees around this area in the future, should they all survive.  They are still looking great and having been adding new growth all winter.

Strawberry Fields forever!

Meanwhile, I've been planting flower seeds, cotton and continuing to plant herb seeds.  These went in to the greenhouse, and some of the morning glories are already breaking surface.

I'm starting some more pepper seeds.  I'm not having much luck with the ones I planted earlier.  I think only 2 have germinated. Sigh....   I took the whole tray and threw it in the corner, cursed it three times, and told it "I'M DONE WITH YOU!!"  Then I stamped my feet and turned away. (I've heard that if you give up on pepper seeds, they'll finally emerge.  I'll let you know if that works.)  I'm soaking these seeds a while before planting to see if that helps.

Red Cheese, Lipstick and Habanada peppers

Meanwhile, I'm "potting up" some of the little seedlings for the second (final) time before they go in the garden (mid-March I hope, weather permitting.)  We have 11 tomatoes, 9 broccoli, 4 cauliflower, 11 cabbage, 10 herb, 5 tomatillo and only 2 pepper plants so far (1 Hatch and 1 Sugar Rush Peach.) 

 The Rio Grande peach has decided to start blooming. I'm worried about it, since we're still getting freezing weather.  It was 28 degrees here last night.

Still bringing in some greens from the garden, some baby kale and parsley. 

 I can't get over how pretty the three year old radicchio plant is looking - this cold has caused it to turn a beautiful maroon color.  This plant keeps coming back strong every year, though. I need to put it in a bigger pot this spring.

John working on the fence around the strawberry plants.

I received a huge packet of seeds from my Facebook garden group (The Serious Seed Traders) on Saturday that I'll be diving into this week.  Excited to see what I have!  

I also got two varieties of seeds from them for "grow out" this year (I'll grow them for seed, then send back all the seeds to the group. I'll get back a pack of all the varieties of seeds from the grown out this December!) Both of my seeds are from India, and I'm excited to try this.  I have:

• Katsuri okra (very tiny seeds, the closest I can find on-line seem to be "Ambrette Abelmoschus Moschatus Latakasturi Muskdana Yorka okra Kasturi."
• AR-5 cowpea