From Lawn to Garden (Part 4)

Hello! This week we had tons of snow and ice in the northeast, but inside, our seedlings have sprouted!

Our little cabbages are growing quickly! Just since I took this picture a few days ago the seedlings have grown to about an inch and a half. Its been very exciting for the kids to see actual growth taking place. I think we finally figured out how to grow our lettuce cut offs and it appears to be all in how you cut the base that helps them to grow. I discarded two that weren't growing properly and now we have two left that are growing from the center and we should have some new lettuce soon.

This week we planted our Bloomsdale spinach in an egg carton. I have to say thus far I prefer starting seeds in old vegetable/fruit containers. They drain better and allow for more sunlight to filter through and create almost a mini green house. The egg carton is getting soggy and the soil on top is drying out quicker using this method. Speaking of soil watering, we have been doing some research and have found these to be an interesting prospect for watering our garden this spring and summer. Have you ever used an olla? I am hoping I can convince my sister who has dabbled in pottery at her university to make me a few.

In the meantime as much as we would like to get outside and begin putting up some trellises or preparing the yard to have the grass removed with a sod cutter that's just not going to happen for a few more weeks as we get hit with snow storm after snow storm/ The kids have been diligently keeping up with their schoolwork and we haven't taken any snow days as we are waiting for SUN days :) I am so proud of my daughter as she perseveres and is plugging along with her reading lessons. This year we began using BOB books instead of her 100 easy lessons which worked so well for my son but was making her miserable. These are little books that she can read and feel triumphant! I liked them so much I got them for our little guy and he loves the ABC set. I am loving homeschooling him as well as he reminds me of my older son-- he can just memorize much faster and also has sister's love for learning. It's a pretty nice combination!