Sprinter

Here we are, suffering through yet another winter event even though the calendar tells us it’s spring. It’s so depressing to see more snow blowing sideways through the yard. Yesterday the highway up here was bare. Today we’re back to a total mess: patches of wet, flowed by slush, followed by snow-pack, followed by slushy drifts, soon to be followed by ice. There are long sections where none of the dividing lines on the road are visible because of the build-up of snow/slush. The fog isn’t helping at all.

I have finally put some seeds into soil. We had a couple of sunny days and I got excited. Some of those seeds are even sprouting. The mixed leaf lettuce seeds I collected and saved last summer were the first to show growth. I think every single one of those seeds sprouted. There are a couple mini peppers up, and at least one tomato. (The dirt is pushed up enough that I’m assuming more of those will soon burst forth.) There are two large trays filled with seed-starting soil. In the other tray I’m seeing sweet basil barely above the dirt. Both trays are on the floor under my rock-painting station, where they’re getting what little sunlight we have. They are facing the French doors.

A couple of weeks ago I sprinkled seeds from my Jewels of Opar atop the soil in a pot where the original plant had expired from neglect or overwatering. I’m not sure of the exact cause. Anyway, I watered the pot well and stretched a baggie atop it. I think every single one of those minuscule seeds took off. The baby plants are up high enough they started lifting the baggie up. I had to remove the plastic to prevent rotting of the babies. That means I’ll need to water that pot more often. Ditto with the seedling trays.

Once those baby Jewels of Opar get a bit larger, I’ll need to repot them into multiple small pots. And that means the snow outside needs to go away so I can retrieve my smaller starter pots from my storage shed. Right now there’s too much snow blown in front of the doors, blocking me from opening them. I’ve saved many of those four- and six- opening starter pots that purchased bedding plants come in. I buy lots from the local greenhouses and save those pots for my own use. (They also work in the bottoms of your outdoor pots so you don’t need quite as much potting soil. You can crumple them up, or leave as is if they’re pretty sturdy.) Who knew there’d still be so much snow blocking my access to my stored gardening supplies?

The amaryllis is slowly opening. It’s going to be a deep red, with two flowers. There are hardly any leaves on that bulb, and the flower stalk is on the short side, but the lure of spring has convinced it to bloom now. And it makes me happy. The red geranium blossoms next to it are starting to fade. A few of the center flowers are dried up, but I’m still enjoying it. My shooting star Hoya still has some of those original flowers on it, while the newer buds are still just buds, but are getting larger.

The vines I’ve trimmed and stuck in my home-made rooting containers are forming roots. I’m afraid they’ll be ready long before the weather will allow me to plant them in my outdoor pots. They’ll have to live in water for the foreseeable future. And I’m going to start a few more.

Sigh. It’s Sprinter in northeastern Montana. (Combine Spring with Winter. It’s the term I’ve made up for this weather. It’s a bit more acceptable in mixed company or in the presence of small children than what most of want to call it.)