It is slowly warming up here in upstate NY, the snow is gone for now and it’s time to start working on the garden. Last weekend I weeded in the greenhouse, because there were quite a few of them growing all over. The chives look great and the lemon balm plants are starting to push out new growth. I added fertilizer and some fresh potting mix to one corner of the greenhouse. I planted out a few spinach plants and direct sowed two rows of lettuce seeds.

Inside the house I’ve started more seeds, and have pricked out my second batch of tomato seedlings to individual pots. I sowed a bunch of flower seeds last weekend including marigold, cosmos, snapdragons, and calendula. I currently have about two dozen tomato seedlings, four different varieties. I started four more types of tomato seeds this week, that should do it for tomatoes.

The basil seedlings sprouted from my second seed snail, and I put them in individual seed cells this weekend. I grew both Genovese and purple varieties.

The seed snails were a success, once again. I now have 8 tomato seedlings (Brandywine and New Yorker) which are strong and healthy. They should be ready to move out to the greenhouse in early May.

I potted my 4 mail order dahlia tubers about two weeks ago. Two of them have woken up and put out new growth, still waiting on the others to show signs of life. I’m expecting some more strawberry plants later this week, and will need to get them put in small pots before being transplanted out to the tower in about a month.

I started my first batch of indigo seeds this month. Hoping to grow enough plants to be able to make some dye this summer. They need light to germinate, so I tried to place 3 seeds on top of the soil in each cell, then sprinkled a tiny amount of soil over top. I’ve had trouble in the past with keeping seedlings alive once they come up.

I potted up about 20 of my pepper plants from 4-1 seed cells into individual pots. Several of them had tiny flower buds starting to form.

Here they are, with a bit more space between them and more soil for the roots to grow into. They should be ready to move out in mid-May.

I pre-ordered seed potatoes from a local seed company and my order arrived last week. I purchased one pound of Keuka gold and 1 pound of Norland Red. This weekend I planted them in grow bags and moved them into the greenhouse. If there is a frost predicted I will move them back into the basement but for now I want them to get all the sunlight they can. Each grow bag is about 1/3 full, I used old potting mix, my homemade compost, and a good sprinkle of granular fertilizer in each bag. As the potatoes grow I will continue to cover the stems until I reach the top of the bag. This will ensure I get a larger harvest of potatoes as they grow and develop up the stem but still under soil.

All lined up in the mostly empty greenhouse

Early spring is here. Two of the pear trees are starting to bud and are ready to start growing! The other two haven’t shown signs of new growth, but it’s still early.

The Cortland apple tree is the furthest along, which is the same as last year. It is preparing to bud and leaf out.

And last but not least, the hyacinths are now blooming! The row of daffodils behind them are starting to form flower buds as well.