Is it Spring yet!?

One thing good about being past the Winter solstice - that means the days are getting longer and soon it will be Spring! But, alas, Spring will not be here soon enough. So for the first time in a long time, I am endevouring to bring Spring inside.

This is a small flat of basil and lettuce that was started about a week ago. The ultra-tiny seeds were glued to single-ply bathroom tissue to help keep their spacing. The tissue was then set on top of potting mix and more potting mix was gently pressed over the tissue to a depth of about 1/4 inch. Watering was done by gently dripping water from my hands as I discovered my misting bottle has been devoured by the black hole. You can see some of the exposed tissue where there are no seeds. While the seeds would probably stay in place better if I let the glue dry, they seem to have stayed reasonably well. I used Elmer's school glue - the washable, gel type.

Here's a closeup of some of the lettuce as they germinated. The flat is kept under ordinary (not "grow" type) flourescent lights controled by a timer - 12 hours on, 12 hours off. Day temps run about 75*F with night time temps dipping into the 50*F - 60*F range (they are in my unheated laundry room, and once the lights go out, the temps drop pretty quickly).

I love my camera - here's a closeup of one of the seedlings. This one is about a week old.

Things To Do In January & February

While the snow flies and the wind whirls around everything, there are a number of warm, indoor things you can do in January and February. Since you are indoors in your climate controlled home, these things will be just like what Winter Bound gardeners "everywhere" will be doing... out door things are pretty standard during this time of the year, too... Basic Zone 6/7 Stuff.

Indoor activities

• Divide & Repot house plants
• Wash/sterilize seed starting equipment
• Inventory seed collection & maybe test viability
• Make those final seed catalog selections and order seeds
• Plan and sketch new garden beds
• Refrain from planting Tomato Seeds
• Start seeds for an indoor herb garden of different types of basil
• Hang out at Dave's Garden
• Order fruit trees for Spring Planting

Outdoor activities

• Continue to add veggie scraps to the frozen compost pile
• If you live in a rural area, mice, skunks and all sorts will visit your compost pile for "fresh greens"
• Spray "deer off" products on trees after a heavy "snow & melt"
• Sprinkle about 1/4 of your yearly allotment of bone meal under your trees and thinly over beds of perennials - not enough to wake up your plants, but enough to deter little rodents
• Deep water trees on a warm spell where day time temps will be 40*F or so for a few days in a row
• Check mulch on garlic, strawberries, oregano and other "over wintering" plants - add more mulch where the wind has swept it away
• Fill the bird feeder(s), especially right before & after a storm
• Put fresh water out for the birds