Window of Opportunity....

Spring is here! Oh, yeah..not yet..there are supposedly several more weeks of winter but I am too excited to just sit inside and wait for the official announcement of the seasonal change. This morning, I decided it was time to plant my tomato and pepper seeds. This probably should have been done two weeks ago but at that time, I really had no place to plant them. This weekend, Son built me a "hotbed"! YAY!!!! For any non-gardeners, a hotbed is a plot of soil that is supplemented with manure and is enclosed by glass. The rotting manure heats the plot of ground and makes it conducive to starting seedlings. This hotbed is used to force start seeds so the plants can be set into the ground as soon as the weather is warm enough to support them. I am late getting the hotbed but I definitely appreciate it being built for me! This hotbed is about eighteen inches wide and maybe twelve feet long. It has some old windows placed on top to allow the sunshine to beam down on my seedlings! I have sowed Cherry Tomatoes, Beefsteak Tomatoes and Rutgers' Tomatoes. There are also Habanero Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers and California Wonder Bell Peppers nestled in rows between the tomatoes! I had a bit of a problem with ants in one end of the hotbed so that was doused with vinegar in hopes of eradicating them. Once that end is clear of the critters, I will put in Eggplants and some more Tomatoes. (And..yes, I realize that is a lot of tomatoes but even though I canned quite a bit of tomato sauce and ketchup this past summer, the shelf is becoming bare. Time to replenish!) Now my seeds are in the ground an all I have to do is wait until they are large enough to set out into the garden! Son and I also put in three rows of Green Peas. They are along the fences to allow for the vines. Last Spring, we made the mistake of planting the peas in the unfenced garden and the rabbits kept them trimmed to the ground. That is a lesson learned and I was not about to make that mistake again! The unfenced garden will have to be planted in squash and cucumbers since these do not seem to be on the "Bunny Menu"!

I did notice today that the Peach Trees have come to the conclusion that it is Spring, too! Just this weekend, there were no blossoms and now several of the trees are in full bloom! I am so looking forward to fresh peaches again this year! This past summer we picked several bushels. These were eaten fresh, canned as slices and halves and the rest were made into peach jam and jelly! Hopefully, we will have another good crop in a couple of months. Hopefully, these trees are not jumping the gun with their blooms like I might be with seeding the garden! Hopefully, there will be no more hard freezes this season! Hopefully, I am not pushing my luck!