Hope and Light

Deep in the dark, damp soil: life begins. 

I feel an excitement for the first snow in the early part of the winter season, followed by the holiday cheer. A week or so into January though, I am ready for Spring. Ready for the sun shining on a crisp fresh morning. Ready for tiny bits of green peeking out of the brown of Winter, taking over the gray, bringing the world back to life.

Starting plants inside in January brings hope and light to the dead of winter. Last year we put freshly planted seeds on top of the refrigerator for a little extra warmth. Once they popped up, we put them in the brightest room in the house with South and East facing windows. They got lots of light and grew quite happily. To a point. Then they just seemed to slow way down. I think it was a number of factors like temperature, too few hours of direct sun light, possibly not enough food (though we were using things like azomite and green sand).

This year, we are doing things a little more seriously. There is now an area designated for gardening. We got a nice light and set it on a timer so the little plants get 16 hours of "sun" and 8 hours of dark. So far, salad greens have been planted and are doing quite well. Peppers and strawberries have been planted, and a few sprouts are peeking through. More on that another day. We started the seeds in 2 inch peat pots and transferred them to 4 inch nursery pots when they were still quite small. The starts have been on a regimen of neem oil and sal-suds Castile soap (anti-pest, anti-fungal) and fertilization with Foxfarm Grow BIG.

These starts are very happy little greens! We have kale, a yellow swiss chard, mizuna red streaked mustard greens, deer tongue and a ball lettuce. We will be eating our own salads again in no time! Even with the taste of snowy winter we just got, the sun is out now and we have a small garden on the way, reminding me that Spring is really on it's way back.

Ice-ing

Old Man Winter sends greetings from central Indiana!

A lovely ice storm swept in Friday night covering everything with ice.  All the plants looks otherworldly.

The Dogwood made me think of alien fingers.

We have actually had such a mild winter so far that the Dogwood buds are growing fat, and I have had reports of crocus popping up in the neighborhood.  The cold snap this last week concerned me, but they really might be in for trouble since next week's temperature forecast is supposed to range in the 20-40's.  If the plants think that spring is coming on, and then winter decides to actually settle in for more than a few days at a time, then that might really spell disaster for the trees and spring flowers here in a few months.

For today I guess I will just be appreciate the fact that the ice is melting off my car while my hands are warm inside, no need for the ice scraper.

The First Snow

Surprise, winter is here!  I was minding my own business, working on photos for a post about my Thanksgiving cactus when there was a knock on the door.  It was the FedEx guy, but this was the surprise when I opened the door:

It had just started snowing!  At least this year it waited until after Thanksgiving and after the city removed the leaves from the curb.  Then I remembered I still had plants outside that can't handle this kind of weather, uh-oh.  Remember the elephant ear?  It was still sitting out by the front door.  It has been raining for days.  I was waiting for it to stop so it could drip dry for a day or so before I brought it in.  Well, there goes that idea.

What I have read about wintering elephant ears over is that they should be dug up (when the low temperatures hang around 40 degrees) and stored in saw dust or sphagnum moss and placed in a paper bag in a cool dark place until the spring comes around.

I brought it in and put it in a plastic lined cardboard box.  Time for unexpected surgery!

I cut off the leaves leaving about 6 inches or so.  I think you are supposed to cut them closer, but for a short term quick fix this is what I did.

I wonder if I can leave it in the pot allowing it's dormant period this way rather than removing the bulbs and storing them in a paper bag.  I think I will try.

The other plant went into the bath tub temporarily while it drains a bit.

I can never remember what this one is called.  My mom reminds me from time to time, but I can never remember.  The tag was lost many moons ago, probably one of the many times the cat leaped into the pot knocking plant and soil all over the floor.  Between the cat eating the leaves, and knocking it over, this plant has had a hard life.  Despite the rough treatment from the feline it flourishes in the summer shade on the porch.

For now it is Winter and time for these plants to rest.  I will be back soon with the post about the Thanksgiving cactus I was working on when I discovered the snow and need for unexpected surgery of the elephant ear.