Okay, so I would LOVE to hear what you have all been up to during isolation.
What are some things that are making your days a little brighter, even on these dark stormy days (both metaphorically and actually stormy days - can we catch a break with this weather soon, please).
One thing that has been adding a little touch of 'life' to our barely-there routine, is gardening.
We have two raised garden beds that we built last year, and we were super happy and fulfilled with being able to eat delicious veggies that we grew. We changed things up a little this year with what we're growing, and instead of buying pre-started veggies, we started all of ours from seeds indoors.
We got Leo to do the dirty work (which he loved) of filling the pots with dirt, putting the seeds in the holes he poked in the tops, and covering them back up. Let's talk about a dirty mess all over the kitchen. I have taken on the role of watering the seeds, because who needs a flood in their kitchen, but Leo is sure to remind me to check on them. He loves watching them grow, and he keeps asking about when we can eat them, and when we get to plant them outside.
Leo had a blast planting the seeds, but the downside of allowing your toddler to plant anything - is that almost every time, more than one seed goes in each hole, and those holes and seeds end up lost in the sides of the planters only to be found when they sprout. This seemed okay at first, but things got a little crowded pretty quickly and we may have lost some lettuce due to shallow roots.
This year, we planted cucumber, lettuce, spinach, tomato, carrots, strawberries, peas, and green and yellow beans. I had to re-plant some spinach and carrots, but other than that all of the plants are thriving. Luckily we get tons of light in our kitchen, and my mother in law gave me the awesome idea of putting clear plastic cups over the seedlings so it acts as a tiny greenhouse. Most of the plants have actually outgrown the plastic cup lids now though, so they need to be watered more frequently.
Why do these veggies all have different watering schedules? I am no seasoned gardener, and this is all powered by the google machine, trial and error, and helpful tips from friends, but I am still confused as to how plants outside just deal with the weather. They take water when it comes, and they hold up during drier times, and they're all in the same garden bed. And here, I miss the one hour window to water the cucumber plant without a lid, and boom. Gone. Never to be revived.
Soon they will be outside being all resilient and stuff, but (unfortunately for them) for now they apparently need to rely on my memory to stay alive. Who would have thought keeping plants alive was actually harder than keeping your kids alive?
One of the latest additions to the garden (Monday) was our bean seeds. I have been wanting to grow beans forever. They hold a special place in my heart with memories, as my Grandma always grows beans! She grows a ton of other things too, but the beans were always my favourite thing to pick and eat right out of the garden growing up. They still are! I always look forward to a nice bag of fresh beans from Grandma.
I got a great tip this year from my Grandma too: Sunderland Co-op on Keene Road, in Keene, has seeds that you can buy in bulk. They're way cheaper than buying the packaged seeds, and you get a ton more. I got 1/4lb of green bean seeds and 1/4lb of yellow bean seeds for 25C each bag. Not to mention I got 15 peat pots, and two bags of Miracle Gro - and my grand total was a whopping $17. Needless to say, I spread the seed love to my mom and Grandma - which was really nice. It's a reminder that even the littlest gesture can brighten someones day.
Is anyone else an indoor gardener these days? If so - what are your favourite things to grow and eat? And we would love any tips and tricks you may have for these fragile little seedlings!
Hope everyone is staying safe and happy!
B