seediness

what, you may ask, has been going on in cal’s kitchen for the past month or so? why are all the baking pans stacked in weird towers under fluorescent lights? it looks like some kind of alien incubation ward…

one word: SEEDS. fortunately my new kitchen has fluorescent lights under all of the cabinets, so i have ample room to spread out the sproutlings, which is good because i doubt i would have forked over the cash to buy a grow light contraption. and, as any pro will tell you, window light is never really enough. the days are still too short, and windows rarely have full direct sunlight all day long. on march 16 i planted onions, scallions and leeks (late; these should have been started in february), tomatoes, kale, brussels, red cabbage, broccoli, collards, pac choi, and dianthus. within 3 days most had sprouted, and by the 24th everything was up. i never tire of watching the little guys grow and change…

these last 4 photos are all from march 23. isn’t it amazing how fast they had grown? we’ve had some glorious spring weather over the past month and they’ve spent many a sunny day out on the deck ‘hardening off’. but since temps have been going into the 30’s at night, and there has been a frost or two, they’re back in the kitchen at the moment.

i’ve been finding great information on (my neighbors down the road) the Hudson Valley Seed Library‘s website, especially their seed-starting 101 guide. it can be daunting to figure out what to plant when, and it’s comforting to know that they are in my immediate area so i can follow their lead.

i hope you’re game for lots of gardening posts to come, as i can already tell i am becoming (willingly) consumed by it. i’ve waited my whole life for this, my first REAL garden!