Oh, is there anything that inspires green dreams more than a beautifully photographed seed catalog arriving in your mailbox when there's still snow outside???
Yes, I'm that kinda nerd.
I'm waiting for just a hint, a sign, a whisper that Spring is coming. I just read in my Omlet newsletter (Omlet being the company that makes my yuppy chicken coop), that Valentines Day is typically the date that chickens begin to lay again after their winter protest. How romantic you say! (and yes, I'm also the kind of nerd who reads company newsletters.)
However, March has now arrived and egg production is pretty spotty so maybe this is one old wives tale not so accurate (or maybe just true for Chickens of the Commonwealth since Omlet is a British brand.)
Despite the sketchy poultry prediction, I'm still fantasizing about our return to ~10 eggs a week in addition to my garden so green.....
I'm just not a fan of the cold, and winter can't be over soon enough for me. Despite the fact (or maybe because) I grew up in North Dakota......I have leftover childhood trauma from playing 'squish squash applesauce' in a snowmobile suit against the corner of the elementary school brick wall trying to get out of the 20 below wind because we were sent outside for recess to "play".
Honestly, the best time of year is any time that the pool's open - I just tolerate the rest.
One way to do this is to fantasize about my garden plan and how I can step it up from last year. I don't do anything all that fancy.....just the normal veggie staples like peas, beans, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce and such. But I'm still learning what works best with our soil and which varieties we like the best.
Last year I learned that a family I grew up with in N.D. grows organic seeds. They've been certified organic since the 70's (like before the cool kids were doing it).
I ordered some last season and the tomatoes and peas were wonderful. So shout out to the Podoll Family and Prairie Road Organic Seeds!
I didn't have as much success with the beans but I had changed locations in my garden that didn't have as much direct sun so that was likely a factor.
It could be too that certain seeds are more suited to the N.D. soils since they're bred for that area but I still want to try again with a few this year to just see how it goes - they have many interesting and unique varieties - check them out if interested...I'm sure they'd appreciate the business.
So this weekend, I'll be setting up my seed table and grow lamp to get all those little baby plants started.
It's supposed to snow tomorrow here in Philly.
But I can be in denial if I want to. So there.