It's been a long, cold, snowy winter here in Central Illinois, and it seems the majority of Midwesterners agree that Spring is welcome to arrive at its earliest convenience. We've had a taste of it the past few days, with temperatures venturing above freezing, and the opening of another gardening season at the library! The new batch of Green Chillis jumped right in with several activities...
-- Germination testing for two varieties of cucumber seed (saved from 2011 and 2012, so we weren't sure about how viable they'd be): We lined up 20 seeds in a damp paper towel and enclosed them in a plastic bag. We'll check them periodically over the next couple weeks to see if any sprout, and that should give us an estimate of how many seeds we'll need to plant to get a given number of successful plants.
-- Germination testing for two varieties of cucumber seed (saved from 2011 and 2012, so we weren't sure about how viable they'd be): We lined up 20 seeds in a damp paper towel and enclosed them in a plastic bag. We'll check them periodically over the next couple weeks to see if any sprout, and that should give us an estimate of how many seeds we'll need to plant to get a given number of successful plants.
-- Starting seeds in flats for several varieties that take a bit longer to mature: two kinds of petunias, three kinds of daisies, foxglove, and alyssum.
-- Exploring the box of goodies received through the Herman's Garden Seed Donation Program through the Seed Savers Exchange. This is the second time we have applied for the program, and once again the SSE responded most generously. It was like Christmas in March, watching the Chillis dig through and exclaim over the colorful packets! "Purple Poodle Pole Beans? Oh! Purple Podded!"
-- Exploring the box of goodies received through the Herman's Garden Seed Donation Program through the Seed Savers Exchange. This is the second time we have applied for the program, and once again the SSE responded most generously. It was like Christmas in March, watching the Chillis dig through and exclaim over the colorful packets! "Purple Poodle Pole Beans? Oh! Purple Podded!"
We rounded out our time by reveling in the sunshine and snow -- with a snowball fight in the garden!
Here's to another year of growing!
(I've also -- slowly, yet surely -- been updating the blog from the past seasons. Check out the posts below for the story of our garden so far!)
(I've also -- slowly, yet surely -- been updating the blog from the past seasons. Check out the posts below for the story of our garden so far!)