The planting has begun

For Family Night, we went to our little farm and planted all our "cold weather" vegeys. (you have to have those in Idaho) We put in all our peas, potatoes and onions as well as some broccoli and carrots. The other members of our little farm community were there and we worked together to get the rows ready and plant the seeds. It was a glimpse into what a fun summer we are going to have working on this project. I must say I am super excited!

This morning Luke said he wanted to go out to the farm and see the plants. I tried to explain to him that they were still under ground and probably had not popped up yet, but he was insistant that they had. What a funny little boy!

It's Official...we have peppers!

I have been trying to be patient (the other Hansens had to wait 5 weeks for their peppers) and that has been difficult for me.  I stopped checking every day because of the whole watched pot thing--they never boil.  Watched plants never grow.  Today I noticed that we finally have some pepper plants coming up!  I was afraid they were doomed.  

We drove out to the farm plot on Saturday on our way back from Pocatello.  It is big, but when I looked at it I didn't have an overwhelming feeling like I did when we first were talking about the dimensions of it.  

Here are the first transplants, growing nicely in the window.  One of these days it is going to warm up enough to take them outside for a while.  


Notice the big plants are all the second wave of flower seeds.  They do grow much faster than vegetables.  I think we need to transplant a few of them in the next day or so.  This afternoon we are going to go plant our root vegetables and the leafy stuff.  Plus the peas cause they like the cold weather.  I am excited to finally get into the garden and feel like we are getting something done!  I know my front room would argue since almost every window is occupied by plants, but I want them to be in the ground where they can really start to spread out and develop.  I am a little surprised at how excited I am--and how I have yet to kill anything. Knock on wood!

Peet Pots

The transplants have taken place. In their spots in the "green house" we have put flowers for use outside the house. The little discs didn't quite fit so they are smooshed into their individual holes.

Already the leaves are larger and growing better with more room to move. I may have planted them a little too deep though. Some of the stalks were really tall so I put them down deep in the soil to give the stalk some support. The whole point is for the roots to have lots of space. I didn't know this though. Now I know and I will not mistake that one again. Here's hopeing the roots have plenty of space even though I didn't plant them at the top.

On seedling news, still not a pepper in sight. I felt better when I spoke to our "plot" friends though. Their pepper plants took almost 5 weeks to pop up. There is still hope. We are only on day 15. I figure we have a good 3 weeks before I give up on them.

11 d 11

It has been 11 days. Tomorrow I have potting soil on the shopping list so I can transplant a few of these babies before they get squished to death in the short roofed dwelling they now occupy. It makes me excited that they are growing so quickly. I am trying NOT to worry about the ones that have yet to pop through the soil. 7-14 days lisha the package said 7-14 days.

On a side note, I have now convinced my sister and her family to join in on the planting. I am excited that they will join us because it will give us even more time to spend together over the summer months. Hooray!

7 Whole Days

I took these pictures this morning. The edamame is officially bumping the ceiling. Not sure if that means I should leave the lid off or not...The other pots still need it I think. So now I am going to have to surf around for some advice.

Day 5

Here they are on Tuesday. The big ones are edamame and cucumbers. We also have some tomatoes bursting through. These trays are awesome and so far fool proof...which is great for me! (Refer to this)

The Plot

We have decided to join forces with a few other families in our ward to create a great big garden. We have 2 plots out at the Stake Farm reserved for us and our elbow grease. So far we have 4 families committed. (one already became a little overwhelmed and opted for the plot in the neighbors back yard. I wish that was an option for us.) There is a fifth in the works, we will see how dedicated they are.



Each plot at the farm is 50 feet by 80 feet. We have 2. Not quite sure why we decided to go so big, but the rewards will speak for themselves.



Here is the beginning of our contribution. Well some of it anyway.



I am already a little overwhelmed thinking of the moutains of vegeys that will need to be canned at the end of the summer. But another part of me is SUPER EXCITED! I can't wait until the planting begins. We are anxiously awaiting the phone call!