February is a time for seed starting. My preferred seed companies are GEO Seeds and Johnny’s. Geo is the most affordable. They are a small company and shipping takes many weeks. Johnny’s has helpful tutorials, pictures and shipping is a less than a week.
The best tips for starting your own seeds:
- Buy seed-starting soil mix. It has built in compost, peat and perlite to encourage healthy rooting.
- Use heat mats to warm the soil for germination.
- Use plastic domes or a dusting of vermiculite to keep the soil moist during germination.
- Use grow lights on timers with at least 16 hours of light.
- Use trays that allow bottom watering. This helps keep fungus gnats away.
- As seedlings mature, let them dry out almost completely between watering.
- Allow yourself 4-8 weeks to grow seedlings. I start between Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.
The direct-seeded beds from last fall are doing well! This is larkspur, one of the easiest flowers to grow. They love the cool weather and germinated perfectly. As the days warm up, they will grow slowly. Flowers in late May!
I test my soil every other year. Everything starts with the soil. Two important markers are pH (optimal is 6.8 for flowers), and organic matter. Waypoint Analytical is a preferred resource is our area.
One of my favorite things is talking about growing flowers. I had the opportunity to speak to the Evergreen Garden Club this month. The room was full of warmth and love on a cold winter day. I’m available to speak to clubs and groups. Contact me with your request.
The willows this year are absolutely stunning. I began these shrubs as single sticks in the ground in March 2020. They are now 8 feet tall and full of branches and catkins. Bunches are available in the shop now.
We lost our dogwood tree in the great February wind storm. It pulled right out of the ground. The tree had been failing, so we weren’t surprised. I think of big winds as “nature’s haircut”. The force of the wind sheds a tree’s dead branches and gives us kindling for our fires.
On cold, windy days I make soup. This Copycat Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana is a winner. I don’t use meat and add cannellini beans for protein. It’s easily adaptable and perfect for cozy days.
This week the weather is changing and I can “smell” spring. Scents of green, life, warmth, and freshness permeate Celadon Hill. I can feel a “spring” in my step. The sleeping roots are waking up. Soon it will be time to dig fingers into the ground and plant.
Archie has been inside more than out this month. Too cold, too windy, and too rainy for the belly-sensitive dachshund. He can admire Celadon Hill from his perch at the top of the hill.
My favorite quote for February from Olive Again, by Elizabeth Strout.
“Because in February the days were really getting longer and you could see it, if you really looked. You could see how at the end of each day the world seemed cracked open and the extra light made its way across the stark trees, and promised. It promised, that light, and what a thing that was.”
― Elizabeth Strout, Olive, Again
Thank you for reading my blog post! It’s a joy to share Celadon Hill with you. Next month look for our Plant Sale available on March 10th. Flower seedlings for you to grow in your garden. Order in March with pick up around Mother’s Day. Perfect time for planting.
