right now

right now

Mar 20, 2013

Seedlings are up!

Well, most of them.... still waiting on a few peppers to sprout.  Once again, it seems I have planted too much, ooops!  Looks like I will have enough to share again this year :)


For your laughing enjoyment... that setup is in my living room right at the front window... I expect DEA agents knocking on my front door any day now as soon as they see the flourescent light emanating from the cracks in my shutters.


When I say I'm strapped for space in here I'm not joking.  I will be able to put them on a small vertical shelving rack in the back of the house as soon as all are sprouted but I only have one heat mat the flats have to share so this was my only option!  Every year my ideas get more puzzling brilliant than the last...

Life is demanding oodles of time right now, I'm still waiting for that winter "slowdown"!


Loch did his first "marathon" last weekend.  He ran the Operation Smile "Final Mile", which is the last mile of the full 26.2 annual Shamrock Marathon here in Virginia Beach.  I had to meet him and the hubs down at the Oceanfront and it took me awhile to find him... there were 4500 kids from the surrounding cities there.  That's a small percentage of our elementary students here but when they are all crammed onto 2 blocks of Atlantic Avenue it made finding him pretty difficult!

that's a lot of kids...


There he is!


Here's a video of the start... he's the one jumping with his friends in the green caps and red shirts -



Loch on the sand at the finish line, not even looking winded :)


Not one to let his brother hog the spotlight... Finn showing off that he was the lightest of his group and therefore could actually make it across daddy's bicycle parts invention without his feet dragging on the ground!


Now for this other matter, SPRING... it's the first day of spring on the Virginia coastline and we are forecasted to get SNOW tomorrow!  So no, the garden is not cleaned up yet... still waiting on those warm days to arrive!







28 comments:

  1. Seedlings!! You were very diligent with those plant labels! I've always wondered whether the DEA would be showing up at my front door with the light set up peeking out the window. :)

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    1. I guess it never occurred to me not to label them all LOL... maybe next year I'll kick back and relax!

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  2. It's Spring today and it snowed last night! It's melting fast though and is almost gone. My poor crocuses are in bloom in that snow! I love how active your boys are. I wish I could get my two teens out and doing more. They used to be so active too but now I pretty much have to threaten and yell to get them to do anything.

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    1. I sure hope we both see some warmth soon!

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  3. I am clinging to the fact that it's spring like my life depends on it. Or my sanity! Those boys have grown! I love your neat rows of carefully labeled seed pots. Want to come north for a weekend and take over my seed starting?? :)

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    1. Ha! I barely got my own seeds started this year!

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  4. Well, if you have DEA agents knocking on your door, we might be in trouble, too. We have the chicks sitting on the dining room table and from the outside all you see is a red light. Hubby said it looks like the red light district when you pull into our driveway... ;-) Good for Loch!! Is he showing any interest in running more?

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    1. Anke, he is showing some interest, he wants to be in the Running Club at his elementary school next year, so maybe XC in his future? He is definitely going to be the kid not in the contact sports, he likes swimming, running and rowing - all great choices that will serve him well for life!

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  5. Last year I had the whole light setup in my front kitchen window. At night it glowed purple. My kids were worried that the cops were going to knock on the door at any moment. I figured maybe I should put up a sign "Growing Tomatoes" hahahaha. My friend grew all the seedlings this year.

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    1. I too always joked that any police that come to the door will be given tomatoes heehee, and a good story to tell!

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  6. Yay on the kids staying active! And yay on the plant markers in EVERY cell! I'm lucky if I get one in the whole tray LOL

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    1. Freedom, I use mini blind slats cut up so you can imagine there is no shortage of those markers here LOL.. I got one small set of vinyl miniblinds at the dollar store or somewhere like that and I have markers for the next 50 years!

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  7. All your little sprouties look loverly! I'm having to find a "new" place for my seed starting this year, too. I just told hubby he has about two weeks to surrender a spot in the heated part of the garage where I can set up the lights. He said, "No problem." Why do I know it won't be as easy as that? No matter how many years we've gone through this, he's always amazed at how much room all those little, itty-bitty pots take up.

    Yes, I can see the physical change in the boys also. Hold tight, Mom, they will be handsome teenagers way too soon!

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    1. Mama Pea, at least you have a little time yet... I got those started by the skin of my teeth this year. Seems like it never matters though once they go into the garden - the little ones catch up to the early started ones in just a week!

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  8. Good luck with your seedlings. I think it is inherent that every gardner plants more than they will need. With us last year it was peppers, we picked over fifteen bushels of hot peppers. But boy were the neighbors happy.

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    1. Hi Roslyn! Fifteen bushels wow! I thought I was a pepper fanatic LOL... they are so easy to share though :)

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  9. Nice to have such an active bunch.

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    1. I need a vacation from them, Stefaneener!

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  10. Just found your blog.....great post, we want to start a garden at our new house once it's finished. I'm thinking of some container gardens for right now. :D

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    1. Hi Manic Mom, welcome! I have been lazy with my posting as of late but I'm hoping to start writing more often once growing season starts up again. Container gardens are a great way to keep the craziness under control while moving - congrats on your new house!

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  11. I hope spring shows up 'round here sometime before soon. There is so much snow on the ground, it feels like spring will never come! I am trying winter sowing for the first time this year. I have 15 milk jugs, planted with seeds, burried in the snow outside. I hope even some of the sprout. I will keep you posted.

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    1. Lisa, I heard you got snow again! Crazy, crazy! Winter sowing is pretty neat - I tried it here but it went from 0-100mph with the crazy heat so the seedlings were in a sauna by noon. I definitely want to try it when I get back to a "norther" climate!

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  12. I'm growing about half my seedlings out in the shed, subjecting them to very cold night temps, and they seem to be thriving. They get their only warmth from the shop lights during the day. I have a few (only 97 plants so far, LOL) peppers in the house, along with 16 tomato plants. I've also wondered if the drug squad will come knocking over the glow in the window! Probably not, since pot is now legal in my state.

    My snap peas broke the surface of the soil today! Spring is near :-)

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  13. That is a great idea using old window shades as plant markers. I have always struggled with marking my seedlings and the plants in the garden. I will be heading to the thrift shop today. An endless supply of markers for next to nothing and even adjustable length. Who would have thought?

    Thanks
    Frank from Virginia

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    1. Hi Frank! I can't even remember who gave me that idea anymore but I thought "wow, why didn't I think of that"? Ha!

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  14. DEA.... Ha ha!!! You crack me up. This year my garden still looks like the after photo from a tornado.... So I'm going to do a couple containers. Shamrock was awesome!!! I'm doing it next year (uh... The half.)

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    1. Millie - I'm so bad responding like weeks since your comment LOL. My garden is a tornado too! Last year I consoled myself with the fact that since I was technically still getting food from it, my untidiness was excused!

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