Saturday, March 31, 2012

I'm in the Greenhouse...

Preparing for the gardening season ahead.
Preparing for the harvesting season ahead.
Preparing for the preserving season ahead.
I always feel like I'm on 'pins and needles'
when I wait to see what little seedlings
will pop up in the greenhouse each spring!
Our Spring has been cool and wet,
very cool and wet even for the PNW!
I have been having a hard time getting
some of the seeds to sprout, even in the
greenhouse with a heat lamp going
night and day!


I've huddled all the flats together on the side
nearest the heat lamp and even put a sheet of
styrofoam between them and the walls
for a bit of added protection from cold.

The cabbage and cauliflower are up and growing nicely.


The broccoli, too, is up even at the end of the
bench farthest from the heat. They don't seem
to mind a cooler environment.


I was very surprised to see pumpkins poking through
even before the tomatoes!


Three kinds of broccoli.
Not all of these starts are for me ~
I give many to my daughter and
several people at church.
(And this is only half of the seed! I do
have difficulty restraining myself from
planting the entire package, but I was
running out of pots. Lots were given away
last year with plants.)


I thought perhaps the tomatoes were not
getting enough warmth, so I stacked them
over some newly planted seeds, closer to
the heat lamp. And guess what?....


A few hours later the tomatoes had started poking
through the soil!
We may have tomatoes this year after all!
But I won't 'count my chickens before they're hatched'.
Last year I had 40 beautiful tomato plants,
but with our cool summer and fall
they yielded very little fruit.
I'm not easily discouraged.
Like the ant (Proverbs 6:6)
I am preparing for a bountiful crop
to put by for winter.

Joining:
 Amy for

Jami for


6 comments:

Clint Baker said...

Well it looks like you are prepared and everything is coming along well!

Anonymous said...

Raeann,

Your vegetables are beautiful! I would love to have a greenhouse. It is so much fun to start those little seedlings! :D

Athena from McElrath Cabaret said...

Beautiful greenhouse and seedlings!
Athena at Minervas Garden
http://minervasgarden.com

Linda said...

Wow lots will be happening soon in your greenhouse. I love the spoon marker (with photo on it), must make myself some of those. I'm stopping by from Tuesday Garden party.

Beth said...

How fun to watch as the seeds germinate and to have a haven in your greenhouse this wet, cold Pacific NW Spring.

Jami @ An Oregon Cottage said...

I neglected to start my tomato seeds this year (first time in about a decade!) so I'm living vicariously through your photos (and envying your greenhouse!) before a make a trip to the nursery. ;-) Thanks for sharing at the TGP.