I put my hand under the plastic of the tomato greenhouse this afternoon and it felt very warm. I think this might work very well. I decided to put bricks all around my plastic bottle greenhouses over the two peppers and eggplants to help retain heat. Thankfully, I did not repot all my eggplants for…

Yes, it is now expected to go down to 35 degrees Friday and Saturday nights. I went home during lunch and covered the frames over the tomatoes with plastic. I have cement blocks and bricks inside the frames and I hope that they will store heat.

Our MALS (Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies) class, “The Meaning of Gardens,” met at the Montessori School again last night but this time we worked really hard for about an hour and a half building some beds against a bare chain link fence next to a playground. Looking at these gardens, and musing about…

Today, I wrestled a 75 foot soaker hose for 45 minutes during my lunch hour. Next time I am buying 10 foot sections and hooking them together. I came back to work sweaty and sunburned. But I wanted to empty out my rain barrels before the big rains come later this week, and last night…

I know, I know, I am not supposed to plant tomatoes and eggplants and peppers in early April. I do know that. But it is so warm and the lows predicted for the next week don’t go below mid-forties. The official frost date for our area was moved back to April 9. My raised beds…

The weather has been wild this weekend. The temperature dropped about 10 degrees within a hour yesterday, and the wind howled all night, and is still howling. I bought some arugula and rainbow chard at Dark Hollow Farm yesterday and planted them just before the weather went crazy. I would have planted some tomatoes –…

Wow, I looked at the weather report again today and it looks exceedingly wet and warm for the rest of the week. I’m so tempted to plant some of my tomatoes. If I can find a place to buy humus and topsoil today, maybe I’ll plant a few and put one of the cold frames…

Today I went to the farmers’ market and bought a few plants. I planted strawberries in a pot. Once I get the whole yard set up in a garden beds, I’m going to devote a place to strawberries. I’m not much of a fruit eater, but I do like them and to move toward a…

I have not ever had seedlings get so big this early. But I haven’t had this lamp or these particular kinds of plants growing indoors before. I had to stake my tomatoes in their little pots with kabob sticks! Hope I can get them out early this year.