Monday, March 03, 2008

Yes, it's still winter here

Others gardeners may have crocuses in bloom, but we heard our roof creaking and metal railings banging all night, with temperatures below -32 C. We took the dog out for some sledding on the lake this weekend, though.

Here is the landscape of the front yard, with the snow that drifted around in the weekend's harsh winds. Note the banana plants in the foreground - they're doing great.



Therefore, I am fiddling with dirt and seeds in the basement, where it is warm and the growing seedlings bring excitement and enthusiasm.

Lobelia seedlings are so tiny, you can hardly see them (but there ARE there):

Osteospermum "African Sun" seedlings are the biggest seedlings at the moment:

Impatiens and strawberry seedlings grow at vastly different rates in this tray. It's easy for the peat-based mix to dry out quickly in these little pots.

10 comments:

kate said...

I like looking at your seedlings way better than looking out the window. It was bitterly cold here the past few days - nasty wind chills making our eyeballs feel as if they are freezing. My dog gallops around completely oblivious to the weather - I think I want fur between my toes too.

The Osteospermum are going great - the strawberries are as well.

I started worm composting yesterday ... it is pretty exciting.

Amy said...

After reading about living in zone 1 I don't think I'll complain as much about winter here :)

We lived for two years in northern British Columbia, a three hour drive north of where we are now. We ended up with a minimum of 1 month more of winter. I'd come down to visit my parents and find their crocuses blooming while my yard up north was still coated in several feet of snow.

Carol Michel said...

You'll get no complaints from me about winter. I at least have crocuses in bloom.

Your seedlings look very good, growing under those lights.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Anonymous said...

Hi Gardenista,

I'm writing from Prince Albert and we share similar weather. When do you start planting your seeds? Also, have you tried and/or had any luck with growing spaghetti squash in these parts?

I really enjoy your website!!

Gardenista said...

Melanie,
I aim for a "planting out" date of about June 9 (according to my experience and the wisdom of old local gardeners). Then, I read the seed packets, which will often state the number of weeks needed from sowing to transplanting out. Generally, stuff that grows huge or fast should be started later (past experiences with large delphiniums, clematis, and hollyhocks taught me that).

Gardenista said...

Oh yes, and I've never tried spaghetti squash here, mainly because I don't have the space. Soil is a luxury, and you probably have more of it than I do! I'd give it a try if I were you though. Maybe start it ahead of time indoors though, in late April.

Linda said...

We still have plenty of snow here in southern Ontario as well, in fact we had an ice/snow storm today that shut down a lot of places. You've got lots of seedlings growing nicely.

Being Mrs Miles said...

How I wish we could send you some of our lovely WARM warm weather... but we can't. I'm listening to this extremely interesting interview on that seed vault this minute on NPR and thought of you. It says it will be available online to listen to at 6 est - so hopefully you will have some time to listen. You can find it here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87984353

B & M

Anonymous said...

Hi. I have a question for you. How soon do you begin your starts? And for what end date? I guess that should say, when is your last hard frost? One year I planted way too early and lost everything. This year I've begun to think about starting seedlings, but don't want them to go awry again.

I loved the view out the window, btw. We've been watching a huge flock of evening grossbeaks on our hard packed four feet of snow out our window.

Gardenista said...

Our last frost date is usually around June 1-6. There's some saying about the phase of the moon in the beginning of June around here, and there is a new moon June 3. Maybe after that date, we'll be okay! I always get too enthusiastic and jump the gun, but if you've been hardening off the plants for a few hours a day for the previous month, they usually tolerate early June pretty well.