More seed starting

We awoke to a beautiful carpet of snow covering everything this morning, which meant that there would be no softball assessments. Instead I spent the better part of the day sowing seeds. Today I did some blue and some red ageratum, some blue torenia, some orange 'crystal' zinnia, some pink profusion zinnia, some bachelor's buttons, my peppers (habenero, sarrano, jalepeno, cayenne, anaheim, pepprocini, ancho pablano, california wonder, emerald giant, and marconi red).
 I still have just begun as I have many more flowers to do next weekend, and a week after that will be time to start tomatoes.  

Spring flower seeds sowed

We have had snow twice today, both in the morning, and again this evening. The morning snow was a rain that slowly turned to snow. Just yesterday our high was up near 60 and today we have snow. We got a break in the middle of the day, and then all of a sudden around 5:30 we had near white out conditions with the heavy wet snow coming in nearly sideways. By now the ground has had time to get cold and there was sufficient snow to accumulate a couple of inches on the ground. The neighbor's kids were nice enough to build us two fine snowmen in the front yard, which we added a hat, scarff and carrot nose.
 I was supposed to be at softball assessments today, but the weather changed those plans. It was for the best, as I have been fighting a slight virus that makes me somewhat weak with a sore throat. I am looking forward to another season of coaching an 8U girls softball team. It is loads of fun working with the kids. The association tried to get me to coach at the 10U level, but at that level the girls do all the pitching and it can be a tedious thing to watch nothing but walks or strikeouts. So, after originally agreeing, because I wanted to coach, I had to tell them I wasn't interested in coaching at the 10U level. As it turns out, when I called to inform them, an opening had come available to coach an 8U team (where it is a combination of girl pitch and coach pitch) so I jumped at that.
 I have been working on erecting my new electric fence the past week. The toughest part is getting the ground rod into the soil. About two feet down our soil turns to a hard pan which is really hard. I dig a little, wait for rain to soften it up, and dig alittle more. I need to get the ground rod as deep as possible.
 The deer have already gotten to a few of my pea transplants, but I'll start some more this weekend and plant them out in about a week, after I finish with the fence. I planted two 6' rows of nantes carrots and one row of Detroit beets Saturday.  I'll be planting a row or two of each for the next few weeks to stagger my harvest.
 It's also time to start sowing flower seeds indoors. I started some Wave Petunia seeds, Arizona Sun gallardia, some bacopa and some New Guinea Impatients. I put them in some moist potting soil and then put the container in a sealed baggie and place that under lights on a heating pad. Once they get their first set of true leaves I'll put them into individual containers and grow them under lights until it's time to harden them off.

The Peas are planted

I got the peas planted today. I planted one side of my pea net with Alaska peas and the other side with Super Sugar Snap peas. I grow the Alaska peas for shelling and eating fresh. I have in the past canned peas, with marginal success, this year I am on the lookout for a dehydrator to process them that way. If I can't find a cheap one on craiglist, or amazon, I'll probably end up freezing them instead of canning. It is easier and they taste better frozen over canned. I've heard that dehydrating them is the best way to retain their nutritional value and taste.

 The Super Sugar Snaps are for eating out in the garden (I also eat the Alaska peas right in the garden), and they are great steamed, stir fryed, or just added to a table salad. It is a shame the season is so short for them here. I only get to eat them for a few weeks. It gets far too hot, too soon in the year for them to produce as long as I might imagine they would further north.
 I did not bother to inoculate the seeds prior to germinating them. I have grown peas/beans treated with inoculant in every corner of my garden at some point, so the bacteria is already present in my soil. If you haven't grown peas/beans in your garden before, I would recommend you treat your seed with it. It helps the plant roots form nodes on the roots which gather nitrogen, which is then present in your soil. The beans/peas will be more productive and your soil will love you for it. It is a good idea to follow a bean crop with corn or wheat which need more nitrogen in the soil. It benefits the plant, and your wallet because you don't have to buy all that nitrogen fertilizer.

 I put some baby choi seeds in the coffee filters to start germinating. Baby choi is good in soups. Just toss a few leaves into your soup for a few minutes prior to serving, it adds a nice flavor.