Friday, March 2, 2012

Dreaming of Tomatoes

Yesterday, my tomato seeds and starting mix arrived in the mail.  This morning, I grabbed the box and headed for my greenhouse.


It's been many years since the kids called me "Mommy" but I'll keep Camille's editing job on my sign forever.
The snow is gone and the sun is out, but the wind is blowing hard - and it's a cold wind.  Instead of riding, I got busy in the greenhouse where it was nice and warm.



I had three kinds of tomato seeds to sow: slicing, sauce and grape varieties.  Last year I had enough tomatoes to make and freeze a whole bunch of sauce and roasted tomatoes.  I intend to do the same this summer.  We have really enjoyed our spaghetti dinners this winter.

In the summer, our nights remain cold so I need early varieties of tomatoes.  Legend was a winner last year.

I use this heating pad to keep the soil warm and germinate the seeds.  That way, I don't have to heat the greehouse.

I sow the seeds in this plant tray. 

...which has a soil temperature sensor buried in the dirt.

I plug it in and set the temperature to about 65F.


I keep the tray covered until the seeds germinate.  This creates a warm moist environment for the seeds.
Somehow, I have ended up with volunteer poppies growing in the gravel of the greenhouse floor.  I love coming out here with a book and relaxing with all the baby plants perfuming the air around me. 


Back in the house, I immediately recorded my activities in my new obsession -- a gardening network called Folia.  You can click on the badge on my sidebar and it will take you there if you want to check it out.  I've tried other gardening websites before and they were awkward to use and I wasn't impressed.  Someone recommended this one to me in a comment and I love it!  I can follow other gardeners all around the world, I can read (and contribute) to forums on all aspects of gardening, and I can track my plants.  What fun! 




9 comments:

  1. those poppies are too cool! seems like you had a nice place to hang out today.

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  2. Just a little envious (green with) of your tidy greenhouse. What a peaceful place to hang out.

    I'll probably have to direct sow my tomatoes this year. The way it's going - it'll be warm enough in no time.

    There's nothing like home grown tomatoes in the dead of winter - yummy! Thanks for the tip about Folia. :)

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  3. Boy, what Gary would give to have that greenhouse. It looks perfect! Those poppies are beautiful and I would love to be sitting in that chair, all toasty.

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  4. You have a very nice greenhouse. Something about being around plants & soil. All your plans for the toms sound wonderful. Harvest time I would love to know more about how you put them up. I have a very mini greenhouse & most of my seeds for this planting season. Blessings!
    Lara

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  5. Ahhhh yes, I work in a Greenhouse, we have our seeds all tucked in there as well. Working on planting geranium plugs for hanging baskets right now. Hard work, but I love playing in the dirt all day.

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  6. Volunteer poppies and reading in a warm space filled with the perfume of new plants - heaven. Your greenhouse is a really inviting space.

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  7. Very nice poppies and the green house looks very professional, and well organize as everything else you have.
    Good luck with tomatoes,I'm sure you'll have tasty and lots of them.

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  8. One of the things I miss about home (Besides my daughters!!) is my veggie garden. I will have a lot of work to do when I get back :-(

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  9. I started my tomatoes today, too! I can't wait! I love vine ripened tomatoes so much. I don't even buy tomatoes from the store anymore, I'm too spoiled!

    I'll have to check Folia out, sounds like a great resource!

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Thanks so much for commenting!