Seedlings

This week has been busy and the weather has improved a lot in central Oklahoma. I fell last week on the ice and fractured my wrist. So I am in a brace for a few weeks. This won’t stop me from working in the garden. On 2/22, I planted Parsley, Lemon balm, Catnip, Borage, Helichrysum, Dill, Dwarf blue curled kale, Chives*3, Garlic chives, Butterfly bush, Lettuce mix*2, Spinach bloomsdale long standing, Spinach giant noble, Kale Siberian dwarf,Alyssum, Annual mix, Perennial mix, Roman chamomile, Astilbe. I went to the farm again yesterday and of course I planted many seeds. Yesterday, I planted the following seeds: Little marvel Green pea, Peredovik sunflower, Circus circus tricolor carrots, Danvers 126 carrots, Red cored chantenay carrots, Kale, Arugula, Lamb’s quarters, Black seeded Simpson lettuce, African daisy, Cosmos, Calendula, Black Cherry, China Rose radish, Valerian, Daylily, Marigolds, Mammoth dill, Cilantro,  Alyssum, Shade area wildflower mix, Blue picotee morning Glory,Grandpa Ott morning Glory. I apologize if the lists of seeds I planted are long, but it helps me to remember what I have planted. I hope that others in Oklahoma can learn from my successes and failures with these different plants. I learned that some cool season vegetables and flowers can tolerate light frost. I also planted some roots from Walmart, trycyrtis and bleeding heart. I planted the wild ginger and hellebores as well. I saw new growth on the ginger so I think it will make it. The hellebores looked really bad so not sure if they will survive. The purple poppy mallow I planted recently did not make. The pansies are barely holding on. The sedum seems to be doing ok in its new home. We are continuing to work on setting up the drip irrigation lines. Our car was broken into a few months ago and most of our fittings were taken. Most of our tools were also stolen. Most of my seedlings are doing good. I had full germination on cherry tomato, purple tomatillo, and bunching onion.The three types of peppers, thyme, and marjoram have also germinated well. I did not have any germination from the Walter tomatoes after two weeks. It is almost time to thin out the seedlings. I find it a little difficult to kill the baby plants but know it must be done. In perhaps another week they’ll be ready to transplant into bigger containers. I did end up with powdery mildew or damping off on one tray. I am trying to control it with cinnamon and hydrogen peroxide. Not sure if it’s working yet. My sweet potato is sprouted and already growing leaves. Not sure if I will be able to go out next week to the farm but will be going all day on the 15th. I have a lot more to plant still as well as many other chores which need to be done. This week, I made some baked fish called swai with Cajun seasoning. We usually get tilapia or cod but wanted to try this because it is a little cheaper. The taste and texture of the fish was really good and we really enjoyed it with some rice. I have not been able to read much this week but have been working on a drawing for a few weeks from class. I have been taking drawing lessons with Raw Umber Studios for a few months and I really love it. The classes are affordable and the schedule is good for me. The instructors are also excellent. I recommend checking them out if you’re interested in studying portrait or figure drawing. It is so convenient to take classes online. I am happy March has arrived since it is my birthday month and the start of spring. I hope the warm weather continues and also that we get some decent rain this spring. Looking forward to seeing the second year garden take off.