Re: February 2013 New England

NHGardener 2/6/2013, 2:50 pm

Think it's too late to book a cruise for Friday?

plantoid 2/6/2013, 3:25 pm

It will be interesting to see if the Asteroid that's going to pass earth by a mere 22,000 miles will have any effect on the weather after it has passed by at 6,000 miles second .

**donnainzone5** 2/6/2013, 3:29 pm

Couldn't say about asteroids! I've not yet come across anything about their affecting weather or climate.

CapeCoddess 2/6/2013, 3:59 pm

quiltbea wrote:I'm hoping it swings out to sea like one of the last ones we missed.

I'm hoping it goes further inland (sorry): That way the cape has a rain event.

Hey guys, when is that asteroid coming? Isn't it toward the end of the year? Or did I miss something?

Here are the seeds I planted today:

12 spinach
6 pak choi
18 collards
6 cabbage, as the first batch never spouted
1 of each tomato: Sungold, Sweet Million, Roma, Beefsteak, Brandywine, Supersonic. Supposedly it's too early for tomato seeds so this is just a test to see if I can grow them from seed. IF they grow, I'll keep them. :-)

CC

NHGardener 2/6/2013, 8:38 pm

It's been 4 days since I planted my seeds, and I'm not seeing anything yet. I'm hoping the soil isn't too soggy - I water sprayed the starting soil, plus put water in the bottom of the tray, and then on a heat mat with a cover on, and it's been a condensation paradise in there. I notice there's no more water in the bottom of the tray, but the soil still seems to be wet - I try not to touch it too much or I may stick to the seeds.

So how long should I keep these seeds in the mini greenhouse? Might they rot if it's too moist in there?

**camprn** 2/6/2013, 8:43 pm

Er, what did you plant? And are you trying to drown them? Shocked

Just kidding Wink

NHGardener 2/6/2013, 9:12 pm

Well, I planted the home grown seeds - peppers, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, to test germination. Isn't moisture what the whole tray and cover is about? Or should you take the lid off once in a while and let it dry out a little?

Guess it's a germination test combined with a greenhouse lesson. study

**camprn** 2/6/2013, 9:24 pm

NHGardener wrote:Well, I planted the home grown seeds - peppers, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, to test germination. Isn't moisture what the whole tray and cover is about? Or should you take the lid off once in a while and let it dry out a little?

Guess it's a germination test combined with a greenhouse lesson.

No No, I was totally kidding, just ignore me, I have been loosing my mind at work, makes me a bit punchy...

Some of those seeds can take 5-12 days to sprout. Suggestion, go to myfolia, or folia and check what the (average) germination times are. Most info there is good.
http://myfolia.com/

NHGardener 2/6/2013, 10:33 pm

Ah! Thank you camprn. I'm going to give it 6 more days, and if they don't germinate by Day 10, I'll start to doubt them.

**RoOsTeR** 2/7/2013, 7:51 am

Sounds like you guys up east are about to get hammered with a huge storm! Burrrrr February 2013 New England - Page 2 90640

The news here says parts of New England could receive 2-3 feet of snow! Shocked

**camprn** 2/7/2013, 8:43 am

RoOsTeR wrote:Sounds like you guys up east are about to get hammered with a huge storm! Burrrrr The news here says parts of New England could receive 2-3 feet of snow!

Yup, a good ol' fashion Nor'easter! lots o

I think I may go skating this afternoon before the pond is totally covered in snow. What a Face

NHGardener 2/7/2013, 10:40 am

Great icon!

Unfortunately this southeast section of the state is going to fare the worst. The ski slopes will be happy though. And the forecast promises above freezing temperatures starting Monday, should we live that long.

CapeCoddess 2/7/2013, 3:34 pm

I just don't want to lose power as I still haven't acquired a back up heating plan. Sad

NHG, my 2 lettuce containers of 6 packs are very humid also, and sitting on the drugstore heating pad. I just put them together yesterday, so I'll let you know what happens. Since they seemed rather wet, this morning I spritzed them with 1 t. hydrogen peroxide in a couple cups of water to prevent damping off.

The last batch done like this sprouted in 3 days and are now growing in the window (which is my faux greenhouse).

CC, who is hoping to dodge Nemo on Cape Cod

NHGardener 2/7/2013, 8:01 pm

CC, don't think hope is going to get you too far on this one. Smile

I fear a power outage too, but thankfully have a wood stove, which I wouldn't want to be without in these parts.

Turns out my tomatoes are sprouting, as well as the onion seeds I bought for last year, so they're 1 yr. old. My homegrown onions haven't sprouted yet, the cucumbers haven't (they may not have been convex, I think they have to be), the peppers may take longer. I noticed some mold starting to grow on the cucumber soil, so I took the cover off to give them air for a few hours, then put more water in the bottom and covered them.

Starting your own seeds is a little nervewracking. Almost worth the peace of mind to just buy them every year. If they don't sprout in a few days, I'll buy or swap cucumber and pepper seeds. There's a local seed swap coming up here I believe next week.

**camprn** 2/7/2013, 9:15 pm

NHG, I hear that about starting certain seeds. I start any specialty ones and buy transplants for my brassicas. If my eggplants are slow I buy those as transplants too

In other news, the Keene Snow and Ice Festival scheduled for this Saturday has been canceled due to the impending blizzard. Shocked

NHGardener 2/7/2013, 9:48 pm

Actually, I meant starting the seeds you saved from the prior year vs. starting bought seeds.

I'm not above buying transplants tho, either, and did that exclusively last year. But it's more expensive and wouldn't it be nice to do everything yourself.......

Practicality trumps idealism tho. Smile

CapeCoddess 2/8/2013, 1:13 pm

I have both saved seeds and last years store bought seeds that I'm starting this year. I'm very interested to see how they do.

Below is my faux green house: February 2013 New England - Page 2 Feb_9_10

February 2013 New England - Page 2 Feb_9_10

The back window faces southwest. The bottom is tile covered with plastic, then I hang a sheet of plastic attached to an old shower curtain rod across the front, leaving some space at the top for air flow - heat out if it gets too hot, heat in during the night. I also have wire shelves that fit in there once I start getting too many babies to fit as is. It worked great last year so I'm hoping for the same this year.

Weather update: It's not bad here yet in Chatham (I'm at work). Just rain and hi winds so far. I collected some old wood for the fireplace for back up heat if Nemo takes out my power. But the wood is so dry that I'm afraid it'll burn up in 10 minutes. thinking

CC

**camprn** 2/8/2013, 2:18 pm

It's a big'un!
February 2013 New England - Page 2 725582main_GOES_storm_0208_946-710

**donnainzone5** 2/8/2013, 2:28 pm

Ummm.... What was I saying about horrid weather?

CapeCoddess 2/8/2013, 7:27 pm

Update: a few hours have gone by and now the wind is howling and the house is getting pounded...by what I don't know coz it's too dark out there to see anything. Shocked

I can hear the plows go by every once in a while, too, so I know it's snowing now. The lights have started flickering so I donned my thermals just in case. The outage map shows over 300 outages in my little town already and the worst is yet to come.
http://outage.nstar.com/outage/outagemap.aspx

I think I'll go to bed and hide under the covers with some earplugs and a good book. study

CC, signing off

NHGardener 2/8/2013, 7:43 pm

Oh no! I'll take anything but a power outage. Wind starting to howl here too.

**camprn** 2/8/2013, 7:47 pm

Mmmmmwaaaaahhhaaahhhaaaa........ it's finally WINTER! February 2013 New England - Page 2 2hq811v

**dvelten** 2/8/2013, 8:13 pm

Here in central MA at 8 PM it's 20 degrees and starting to snow heavier, but no wind yet. They are predicting things will get worse overnight. At least we got dinner done and cleaned up before we lose power. Just defrosted the last loaf of zucchini bread from the summer to spice up this winter evening. Hope everyone in the NE stays safe and warm.

**camprn** 2/9/2013, 3:20 pm

Well, I think we got about 15" of snow, but it is all blowing around so much it's a bit hard to tell. SALE ALERT! Seeds at Ocean State Job Lot are 40% off. What a Face

NHGardener 2/9/2013, 3:56 pm

Wow, 40% off. That's worth thinking about, altho I'm pretty loyal to the Johnny's/Fedco groups.

Had about 17" here, no power outages, and looks like above freezing temps all week.

Back to garden planning... germination test results show tomatoes sprouting, 2 out of 4 pepper types sprouting, but no on the saved cucumber and onion seeds. Yes on the onion seed packet left over from last summer, but no on the celery seed packet left over from last summer.

It's time to ramp up the onion seeding, no? I'm planning a 4x8 bed just for onions, and now realizing that's a LOT of seeding. What's the best way to indoor seed 288 onion plants? Just throw them all into a tray and pick them out individually when it comes time to transplant?

Year #3 and still stuck on the learning curve...

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