Spring is finally on its way. It has been a very cold winter in Vermont, with only one day above freezing in February. But now the days are longer the sun is stronger there are lawn seed commercials on TV. Best of all, the greenhouse heat is on and all out plants are in there.
As you know I have been making dahlia plants from stem cuttings. Now that they are in real sun they are less leggy with stronger stems. I can continue to take cuttings off the rooted cuttings. The tubers can get potted individually. Everyone gets more soil space. More tubers have arrived and those are getting potted. As they come in so I can get those peach verities on the market sooner. My greenhouse is flooded with dahlia plants.
The anemones and ranunculus have been growing in the cold frame about a month now. The panda anemones are starting to bloom .
The frozen layer of soil 3 inches down, took most of March to thaw. Even though its been getting nice and warm during the day. Vermont’s been receiving snow at least one day a week. It seem like winter will never end, it melts the next day and hope returns.
Over recent years, I have been having low germination rates on Flowering Sweet Peas. This year I invested in specific colors and varieties that were more expensive. I have started sanding the seed a bit then soaking 24 hrs and pre-sprouting them with damp paper towels, resulting in better germination. I saved seed from last year’s crop in order to compensate for the low germination.
Every day, I seed more trays and transplant the plants into larger cells. There’s never a dull moment once the greenhouse opens. It seems like every seed has its own special needs to germinate. Our few plug orders have arrived lisianthus, poppy scented geranium keeping me on my toes transplanting.
This is a special time of year when I have time and restored energy to nurture each little life in the greenhouse. It is so peaceful in the greenhouse with the hum of the blower, the warming sun, and my hands in the soil. Everyone is just growing and growing and its all about new beginnings.
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