The 4th Seed Starting - April 15, 2024 @goldenoakfarm

Dandelions

I never got up until 6AM so it was a late start. I got my post up, the kitchen cleaned up and started setting up. Then I got chores done and breakfast and was just getting dressed when my general helper arrived at 8AM. I sent her down to collect the peat pots and bags of soil.

I set her up with the full trays first while sorted out the partials.

And the windows quickly started to fill.

It was supposed to be a cloudy day in the 40’s so I’d gotten the stoves going the night before. But by 10:30AM the sun was out and we were starting to roast inside. Still no screens in, so we can’t open windows. The yellow tulip in the South garden opened up.

And they filled…

And filled. This one is actually full, but there was another mistake and snapdragon seeds hadn’t been ordered. So we planned to do a shopping trip.

But first we had to fit all the starts on the kitchen table. The kale will remain on the couch.

Old North garden , bloodroot flowers

So the porch was emptied and she started watering all the seedlings while I cleaned up the mess.

Lesser celandine on the bank and into the swamp

I needed to make more granola for breakfast so we headed out just before noon to get seeds and ingredients. I never did get the granola made, just too exhausted.

When I got home I had to start snapdragons in the last tray, adjust lights and the heat mat, and I got laundry started.

This is what I started:

Vegetables:

Cabbages 10
Mesclun 14

Herbs:

Basil 30
Blue Flax 9
Boneset 3
Calendula 24
Catnip 3
Chamomile 12
Chicory 6
Honesty 6
Horehound 6
Hyssop, Sunset 6
Pennyroyal 6
Pyrethrum 6
Sorel 3
Tulsi Basil 12
Thyme 18
Santolina came out of the fridge to start growing 6

Flowers:
Balsam 12
Forget Me Nots 9
English Wallflowers 12
Snapdragons 27

Totals:

Varieties of plants 22
Seedlings 240

Lesser celandine and skunk cabbage in the swamp

I made a quick supper and my brother got home from work. He’d returned from his vacation with my mom and brother around 11PM and had to get up for work at 5AM on Monday morning.

But he showed me a lot of the photos he’d taken and told me the stories before we both headed off to bed at 8PM. I had shut the stock off around 4PM and opened the windows on the back porch. It’s to be cold Monday night and I will have to process the stock for packaging on Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday I am heading out at 8AM to go visit a plant nursery with my friend. We are still trying to find feverfew seeds locally. I was supposed to start it on Monday. I expect we will find other things to do and I won’t be home until after lunch sometime.

My general helper is coming at noon and she’s going to clean out and set up the cold frame, see if there’s any amendment left for the Big garden, and clean out the Big garden. If there’s amendment, she’s going to put it down around the rhubarb and comfrey and then mulch them both.

I’ll help when I get home. Another busy day.