Peeps from peas and cloudy skies

 It is definitely cold outside. Clearer earlier but now the clouds moved in and blocked the sun so definitely nippy outside and need a jacket. Had to wear my jacket but it was warm enough but now it's definitely long sleeve temperatures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The peas are pipping! There's at least two that have surfaced and I suspect it's due to me burying them a bit too deep and not soaking them. Will have to get the netting and the poles up soon.

The potatoes in the north bed are definitely sprouting more so here's hoping they survive and give back some spuds in a few months. I also decided to mix up the mulch bucket and discovered it was very, very wet just under the surface but it smelled of fresh dirt which is an excellent sign it's breaking down sufficiently. Doesn't have that evergreen mulch smell it did when I first got it. I kept the mulch bucket out of the corner and moved the bucket of leaves back to the end of the raised bed. Only one bucket visible at a time is my goal.

And of course the obligatory picture of the hummer babies. They are definitely taking an interest in what's moving around them and are almost completely fledged. Mama bird was hovering around when I came out the other day and had to reassure her we were just passing by and not going to bother her babies. They will have plenty of places to hide in the bougainvillea for sure.

Now I mentioned starting seeds in containers or pots to plant out, there's any number of things on the market, even ones I wouldn't have to buy soil for but being the 'frugal' aka 'broke' gardener I am, I have containers to recycle. for doing that.

No, that isn't a plastic container bought for holding leftovers, it's actually from some sandwich meat. The other is from mushrooms and neither have holes in them. Then there's the paper towel tube that is great for making individual planting 'pots' to put in said larger containers. All I need is some soil, but then that composting mulch might make a good substitute with a little tiny bit of garden dirt to hold it together. Put a scoop of the mulch in a tough zip bag and pound the heck out of it with a mallet or something until it's ground up. Brilliant!

The clear one with the lid would be good for sprouting beans or other seeds as a little greenhouse situation. Can use stretch wrap or a gallon size zip baggie on the black container for greenhouse effect and the only other problem is...where to put them when they're planted. As I said, no room anywhere convenient at this point to put them. Front porch would be good but it would look like trash sitting out there and they would get direct sun. All shelves are occupied with other things and the only space I might put them on would be on top of the microwave where I keep my garden basket (we really do need to declutter a good bit). Time to start boxing up stuff and taking off to storage again. 

So, more pictures on that idea when they happen. It is definitely windy and very dark cloudy right now..rain is a'coming!