Seeds have arrived

The seeds are rolling in and even though it's deep winter, in a few short weeks I'll be planting things. First are the leeks and onions in early February. We grow superstar onions from seed, a wonderful sweet, mild white onion. Copra is a long keeping yellow onion, and Mars is a good big red. We grow summer leeks that mature quickly so we can sell them at the market. I make my own potting mix with sifted peat moss, perlite, sand and well-aged cow manure compost that must be heated to 160 degrees to kill off the weed seeds. I bake it in a big pan in the oven and it fills the house with a not-too-pleasant smell, but luckily it doesn't linger. Later when the weather is warmer I can bake it in our big homemade solar oven in the yard. This mix is nutritious enough so I rarely need to fertilize. Fish emulsion and seaweed is what I use if needed. Onion seed is planted thickly in peat containers and the tops trimmed a time or two to keep them from getting leggy. They'll be planted out in late March or early April, depending on the weather.

But for now, it's only 14 degrees, the woodstove is singing and there are more fairies crowding in, wanting to come to life on paper. Stay tuned.....