Official Start of the 2013 Garden at Briarwood

This weekend, I brought the propagator in from the shop and started the first plantings of cabbage, broccoli, iceburg and romaine lettuce.  In a week or two, everything should be sprouted, and after a week or two inside under lights for a couple of sets of leaves to develop, it will be into double cold frames in the greenhouse and from there to the long cold frame for growing.  Next come the eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes (In that order and starting about 12 weeks before our last frost date in mid May).  Matthew called yesterday to get my order for replacement hens for the year.  We will stick with the speckled sussex.  They are not the best layers, but they are beautiful birds, and they are considered an endangered rare breed.  I also have plans to add some khaki campbell ducks (if I can find them) for their chicken sized eggs and perhaps a few quail for eggs as well (the last purchase of 50 chicks was a bit excessive even by my standards).

This flurry of activity was jump started by a few days in the low 60's (farenheit), and by son in law Matthew's recent acquisition of a vintage Ferguson tractor.  It is a beauty and I would post a picture, but we had to make some changes to the computer to address a security issue, and I haven't figured out how to get pictures from my computer to the blog given the new configurations. 

In the midst of winter, I hope all of my readers are finding ways to look forward to spring.  Hope is a wonderful thing, and without it our lives can be so very, very terrible.

By the way, I found the most promising additions to this years cutting flower garden, all from Burpee seeds.  Their Sunflower Cutting Mix promises single branching stems producing 3-8 inch flowers in reds, golds, yellows, and bicolors. Their 3o inch Zinnia All Summer Cutting Mix ix an all time favorite with its multicolored double blooms.  This year I also found their 30-36 inch Zinnia Peppermint Stick Mix with its flecked appearance in several colors.  I'm looking forward to a grand season!