seeing green

This year is all about food producing plants. Green is the color of 2009.

tomato seedling

apples

I'm really excited about these columnar apple trees... the Northpole variety I bought came with a few tiny apples already on it. If you're not familiar with these, they are the perfect way to grow apples in a small space. Vertical with almost no branching. Disease resistant. Plants grow to 8-12 feet tall. Can be grown in a pot or directly in the ground. I also bought the Scarlet Sentinel variety. Like blueberries, they do need two different varieties to pollinate (these can be within a block of each other).

As you may recall, I planted several kinds of vegetable seeds inside a couple months ago, to get a jump start on spring. The seeds sprouted, turned into seedlings, and have now been planted outside. It’s amazing what a bit of sunshine and a torrential rain or two can do! I learned a thing or two in the process. First of all, some things do not benefit much from being started inside. Others just aren’t worth all the trouble that’s involved in this process of protecting from cold, protecting from too much heat, and watering, watering, watering, then moving the small starts to larger pots until the outside soil temperatures rises, then watering some more. Truth is, I just don’t have time for so much nurturing in my life!

Butterhead lettuce. Started inside 11 weeks ago...

butterhead lettuce

Mesclun mix lettuce. Started outside two weeks ago...

mesclun mix lettuce

sure do love basil...

basil

the lone bean seed that sprouted. Pretty sure some chickens gobbled up all the others...

bean sprout

Kermit the Frog said it best... "It's not easy being green!"
Happy spring!