Starting Seeds Indoors
Inside: The calendar says April, but it’s not too late to plant seeds indoors and watch them grow. Many parts of the country are still shaking off winter, so why not give it a try this year?
Seeds intrigue me. A little miracle inside a small package. Potential. Possibilities. I love this!
I get excited when I see a rumple in the dirt, tiny shoot pushing its way to the sun. A seed does its magic unseen, underneath a dark blanket of soil. It takes faith and waiting. And waiting and waiting. I never tire of the miracle.
At my cousin Phil’s funeral recently, his brother-in-law retold a story from Phil’s mother, how as a small boy he used to put seeds in the ground to see if they would come up. I tucked that story away to take along with me. As a child, the “seed” of what he would become, a farmer, was inside him, too. . .
The Why of Starting Seeds Indoors
I got an email from Burpee this morning with this headline: Last Call to Start Your Seeds Indoors. Actually, it might be their last call, but the truth of the matter is, as long as you have enough season left, you can start seeds inside. Admittedly, this time of year indoor seed starting makes more sense as we wait for the weather to cooperate. Once it’s warm outside, or rather the soil is warm enough, it makes more sense to directly sow in the ground. For the most part, anyway. I have, on occasion, started seeds indoors midsummer for a fall crop of cabbage because it was just too hot outside for the sensitive cole crop seedlings.
What You Need
A sunny window, although grow lights are really, really nice to have.
Seeds, of course.
Soil. (No, I’m not getting into the science of hydroponics or air plants.)
Containers. Peat pots, egg cartons, egg shells, yogurts cups, or the old kindergarten standby Styrofoam cups. Really, anything you can put soil in that has drain holes in the bottom.
When to Plant
Let your seed packet be your guide! On the back you will find everything you need to know about what you want to grow. Directions for the best time to plant for either starting seeds indoors or direct sowing them into the ground as well as planting depth, germination time, and other planting tips can be found on the back of the packet. A general rule of thumb is to start seeds six weeks before transplanting outside, and most of the time transplanting means after all danger of frost is gone. Some crops, such as cabbage and cauliflower, can take mild frost conditions, and you can always cover plants or use cold frames. Even a recycled milk jug with the bottom cut off can act as temporary protection for your plants. But, please, don’t put tomatoes into the ground before the last frost date for your planting zone. You are taking a big risk if you do.
Nurturing Seedlings
Keep in mind that seedlings grown in a window can get leggy–leggy meaning long, thin stems that have few and widely spaced leaves. What happens is your plant grows quickly toward the light. I’ve found some success in turning the container–left side facing window pane one day, then move the container so the right side faces the window. Also, running your finger gently over the seedlings simulates wind, which strengthens the stems. (More tips for leggy seedlings here and here.) Some plants you can simply put into another pot and plant deeper, such as tomatoes or zinnias. But for some seedlings that doesn’t work.
Give your seeds adequate water, but don’t water too much. A spray bottle works well when the seedlings are fragile. And be careful around pets. My cat likes to pluck the seedlings out of the dirt for some reason, so I have to keep him away.
With a little tender loving care, your seeds will grow into thriving plants that will bring you a wonderful harvest–whether food for the body or food for the soul.
Have you started seeds indoors this year? Tell us about it in the comments.
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Happy Birthday, A Rural Girl Writes!
Inside: The blog turns one today! At 125 posts and going strong, we’re looking ahead to more great gardening tips, recipes, reflections, and DIY adventures as we embrace the simple life together.
- Warning: This posts contains a lot of exclamation points!
The blog turns one today, and although we’re still toddling around, steps sometimes wobbly, we’re determined. In honor of our first anniversary, I thought it might be fun to reminisce through an impromptu interview.
Why did I start the blog?
I wanted to create a space where like-minded folks could come together in an encouraging and helpful environment. Where people find themselves saying, “Me, too” and “I understand.” A place to connect and support others. I look forward to our little community growing in the coming months.
What has been the most challenging part of blogging?
I’m never at a loss for topics to write about. The hardest part for me is to post on a regular schedule. I’m working on that, though. Consistent, remember? Another challenge is to find the right pictures to go with posts. I get a vision in my head of what I want and get frustrated when I can’t reproduce it, whether through my own attempts at photography or finding free images online. Or bugging family members for pictures.
What were the most popular posts?
Best Time of the Day (guest post by Patsy Reiter), Get Started with Essential Oils, The Story of the Hillbilly Christmas Wreath, Backyard Bird Feeding 101 (guest post by Patsy Reiter), Remembering Dad.
Admittedly this is hard to measure. The page that gets the most views is the home page, which has the latest posts on it. Most people first read posts there. The others are direct links people have passed along or Internet searches.
What were my favorite posts?
The Story of the Hillbilly Christmas Wreath, Bucking Bales: A Family Tradition, Finding my Pace: Slowing Down to Enjoy Life, Gardening Advice from a Thirty-year Greenhouse Veteran, An Unforgettable Anniversary, My Noisy Clock, Best Time of the Day.
I should add here that I love doing the 12 Posts of Christmas, and to a lesser degree the decluttering challenge and soup series. Series are fun to do but also lots of work.
What can readers expect in the future?
More “Fresh From the Farm” reflective posts, gardening how-tos, recipes and Simple Suppers, a decluttering challenge in the fall, the 12 Posts of Christmas, more interviews, DIY adventures with Mom, essays, and, well, just more. And hopefully better photography from me.
Special thanks to. . .
We’ve gotten 302 comments (half of those are my responses) from 24 different people! Cool! Most notably I’d like to thank Kelly, Kathy, Lori, Patsy, Bev, and Aunt Deb for commenting multiple times. Your comments encourage me! And, Calen (from Impromptu Promptlings fame), I’m going to thank you separately because of your faithful commenting. You helped me to keep on keepin’ on! If I’m being honest, there were days when you were the only one visiting this blog, and your comments encouraged me more than you will ever know! You have a special place in my heart!
I’d also like to thank Mike, Lisa, Ricci, and Mom for taking pictures for me, but I especially want to thank Emily for taking the time to take so many pictures that I requested, and for helping me learn to take my own. Your pictures have taken this blog to a higher level!
And thanks, Mom, for being my biggest fan, telling people about my blog and posting about it on Facebook!
May I ask a favor?
For those of you reading this, will you take a moment to either let me know a memorable post that stayed with you or what types of posts you enjoyed the most, whether stand-alone or series? You can leave a comment to this post or send a private email to me at <amy@amyharkemoore.com>. This will help guide me to serve you better in the coming year.
Again, thank you so much for reading my posts! If I could, I’d send you each a piece of cake thick with icing and heavy on sentiment.
Much love,
Amy
Which posts resonated with you? Tell me about it in the comments.
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Accidental Peppers, March Weather Madness, and Other News Fresh From the Farm
Inside: Accidentally growing peppers indoors during winter, our wild and windy March, and the blessing of misdirected packages.
Accidentally Growing Peppers Indoors During Winter
Last fall I happened to bring the shishito pepper I grew in a container indoors for the winter. I didn’t think it would live, to be honest, but I’ve been surprised. And more than once.
The first surprise came when the pepper decided to bloom—in January of all months. The next surprise appeared in the form of two teeny tiny baby peppers.
What?
How did that happen? I didn’t bring any bees inside for the winter. And while Winston the cat liked to rub up against the plant sometimes, I didn’t think it likely that he could have somehow pollinated the plant.
But then it occurred to Hubs and me that those little red and orange beetles that have been coming out of the woodwork during mild winter days might have done the deed. Upon doing some reading, I discovered that bees aren’t the only insects that spread pollen. Beetles have been known to help out with the tremendous work of bringing fruits, flowers, and veggies into the world.
It’s been a nice surprise considering time spent outside, weather-wise, has been mostly miserable. A happy little bit of nature indoors. And I have those sweet (annoying) little beetles to thank for it.
Our Wild and Windy March
I always look forward to March—the official start of spring as well as my birth month. Seeing trees and flowers abloom. Peepers heralding the new season. A change in the weather—more lamb less lion. But it seems to me this month has been one big ferocious roaring teeth-baring cat.
I’m cold, dang it!
Come March I really resent donning my winter coat. It’s time for coats and gloves to go on sabbatical. So I just refuse to wear them. As you probably imagine, I’m cold part of the time if my layers are insufficient, and they often are.
I’m thinking of investing in a heavy jacket. Something that doesn’t look wintery but has plenty of warmth—you know, like a coat. Then I can at least look like I’m ready for spring.
The Blessing of Misdirected Packages
I tend to make sense of my life through writing, but some things defy explanation. . . My cousin Phil passed away ten days ago.
Phil, his sister, my brother, and I grew up together. We built little play farms in our grandma’s backyard, among other adventures. There was only a year between Phil and me. He farmed the land next to us, part of the large farm my grandfather left to his sons. So Phil was my neighbor as well. In fact, we’ve lived less than a mile from each other for 45 years, the latter part of those years in hollering distance. When I look out my kitchen window, I see his land.
The day he passed away I watched him drive down to the woods in his Gator, followed by his dad in the tractor. I never would have imagined that would be the last time I’d see him. Working around our farms and homes, we lived much of our lives in plain sight of the other.
What does that have to do with misdirected packages? I’m getting to that. . . In the fall of 2016, Fed-Ex started delivering my packages and Mom’s to Phil’s home. This went on for about six months, and we were quite aggravated about it. We were all so busy and didn’t need the inconvenience—and didn’t want to inconvenience him because it was either fall harvest or spring planting or cutting wood in the winter.
But there would be Phil, package in hand, driving up to my place, and we’d stop to have a long talk, standing outside for close to an hour. Talking about life, farming, family. Remembering our shared values. Reconnecting. This happened a couple of times.
If it hadn’t been for those packages, we wouldn’t have taken the time to talk. So many times we let our busy schedules dictate our lives. The next thing on our to-do list is our priority. As I told Mom this past week, I think God couldn’t care less about our to-do lists.
As I try to make sense of losing my cousin, my neighbor, of looking down at his home and his sheds, half expecting to see him emerge with his dog beside him, I am so grateful for the blessing of those misdirected packages.
What’s happening in your neck of the woods? Tell us about it in the comments.
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A Dozen Uses for Eggs
Inside: Eggs often go on sale in time for Easter, and if you gave your chickens the winter off, as we did, the increased daylight has them laying more than we can reasonably use. Here are a dozen uses for eggs.
The incredible edible egg–do they still say that in commercials? Probably not, but it remains true, nonetheless. This time of year eggs often go on sale, so why not take advantage? As for Mom and me, we share the duties of feeding and watering a ragtag flock of chickens on an alternating schedule. The one feeding gets the spoils. During winter months–unless you provide a source of light to trick them into laying–production tapers off. In our case to zero or one egg per day. Now with the longer hours of daylight, we’re up to six or seven. With better temps and still more light, that number will increase.
Out of necessity, my preoccupation with eggs has led me to finding creative uses for the chicken fruit. What follows is a list of a dozen ways, some fitting in the odd or strange category. Have fun!
1) Make Tempera Egg Paint. Who knew?
2) Whip up a batch of Curried Egg Salad. Simple. For every two eggs, add 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder to your favorite recipe. (I used red curry powder.) My quick recipe is: 2 hardboiled eggs chopped, 2 tablespoons of mayo, 1 teaspoon of sweet and spicy mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon of red curry powder. Yum!
3) Moisturize with an egg yolk facial. Mix a tablespoon of raw honey with an egg yolk and apply it to your face. Leave your egg mask on for 15 minutes. (Avoid scaring small children.) Rinse with warm water.
4) Cleanse oily skin with an egg white facial. Whisk whites with a little lemon juice or water, apply it to face, and let it dry for 10 minutes. Then rinse.
5) Bake Cloud Bread. You’ll find many recipes online, but I tried this one from Sugar-free Mom and thought it pretty good. Admittedly, the bread can taste a little eggy, but as with so many low carb baked goods, it gets better with each passing day.
6) Deter pests in the garden. Placing crushed egg shells around your plants keeps away snails, slugs, and cutworms. An added bonus is that the calcium in egg shells feeds the soil.
7) Lose weight by going on an egg fast. In a nutshell (or egg shell, as the case may be) for every egg eaten you eat one tablespoon of healthy fat and one ounce of cheese. I first heard about it from I Breathe I’m Hungry and have tried this several times. Every time I follow it, I lose weight. She also has some pretty good recipes with a lot of variety and makes it simple with menus and shopping lists. Worth checking out if you like eating eggs and want to drop a few pounds.
8) Treat your hair to an egg treatment. Beat an egg with a little olive oil, mix until frothy, and apply to hair. Add a few drops of a favorite essential oil to the mix for a nice scent. Leave on for 20 minutes and rinse with warm water.
9) Add a cooked egg or two to Rover’s weekly diet for a shiny coat. I haven’t tried this, but I’ve seen the tip around the Internet. Couldn’t hurt to try.
10) Make quiche. Real men do eat quiche, after all. (A reference from a book popular in the 80s. Yes, I’m showing my age.) At least Hubs eats it, anyway. For the low carb friendly crust-less version, a basic rule of thumb for the custard portion is 6 eggs + 1 cup of cream or half and half + seasonings mixed thoroughly. Layer 8 ounces of cheese, leftover meat, and veggies in the bottom of a greased 9-inch pie plate and pour the custard over it. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The great part about this recipe is that you not only use up eggs but also leftover meat, veggies, and that insignificant amount of shredded cheese that’s been sitting in the fridge. Often I will use several different kinds of cheese together with good results. Usually.
11) Borrow your neighbor’s children and color Easter eggs. Kits are easily found at the local grocery store, or, if you’re like my granny, you’ll use food coloring and a little vinegar. (Don’t ask me the exact amount. It’s been too long.) Now, admittedly, I’ve never tried this with brown eggs, so I have no idea how they would turn out, but it would be fun to experiment! Send the children home with the colored eggs and the recipe for curried egg salad. Their family will need it! Update: Mom and Emily did some brown eggs as well as white, with mixed results for the brown. The colors tend to be more muted.
12) Give a dozen away. It’s a nice treat for most people. Even better, find some family in need and make up some good excuse about how you just can’t seem to get rid of all the eggs your hens are laying. Tell them they’d be doing you a favor to take some off your hands.
Tip: You can actually freeze eggs. If small enough, you can crack them into an ice cube tray and then transfer to a freezer bag after frozen. When ready to use, thaw the eggs in the refrigerator, and make sure you bake or cook them within a day.
So there you have it. A dozen ways to use up eggs. If you give some of these a try, be sure and leave me a comment. I’d love to hear about it!
Will you color eggs this year? Tell us about it in the comments.
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