Getting organized for Spring Gardening

The other day I made a quick stop downstairs to see my little sprouts as I was taking items (canning jars) to the utility room for storage. I thinned the Swiss Chard (a new plant for me) and then took the thinned out pieces up to Kiwi and Mambo, my Green Cheek Conure parrots. It's always fun to try something new in the garden just like trying something new in real life. In fact I made some progress in that matter this spring. I actually jumped ski jumps in the terrain park at the local ski mountain. I surprised my husband and my children. After a few jumps I was done and happy. 

Back to why I was in the basement working on my indoor garden. My whole goal was to get the laundry room clean and organized before I start pouring my efforts into the yard. Some items needed to go back where they belonged. It's been raining and so it is easier to stay and work indoors.

I knew the laundry room would take a while so I started with the drawers. Lots of little disorganized odds and ends and bits of dust and grime. It feels so good to get it all cleaned out. I scrubbed the drawers and trays. They were once again white inside. 

Kind of reminds me of repentance. Sometimes in our lives we don't realized that certain things needs to be cleaned up before we can continue to progress.  For years I had no idea how much control anxiety had over me. How much control I had allowed it to take. I've spent time working with a wonderful counselor and then using the work book she recommended for follow up. Since then I've started swimming again and skiing. While I was afraid at first, I exercised my ability to choose to spend time with my family and to choose to do things I love. I found new things to enjoy and am progressing in life again. Choice is so powerful.  The grime of anxiety is slowly but surely being wiped away from my life.

Wonderful new or refined activities fill my life just like the organized items that went back into the drawers in my laundry room.

Cold weather vegetable transplants

Right now I feel very much like we are playing the watch and wait game. I simply have to remember to water my plants every few days. I must admit, my broccoli was looking a little dry. But it's still alive and I'm looking forward to putting everything out in the garden. Well, the cold weather veggies anyway. I need to buy a more water permeable agrabon cover to keep the bugs out. Do you have a preference? I purchased mine locally the last few years but I think this year I'm going to order something online. 

In my life outside of gardening I've been dreaming about building a nice outdoor Aviary for my parrots. I plan on owning a beautiful macaw one day so the Aviary will need to be large enough to  accommodate a larger bird, prevent snakes from getting in, and have plenty of flying space, some shade, and some sunny spots. My birdies need their vitamin D. And when we clean out the Aviary, we can compost everything.

Indoor Garden Upgrades

So this year I decided to ditch the old plastic trays you can buy at the garden center. You know? The kind that flats of flowers come in.  Holding eighteen 3" pots filled with soil and water was fine on the tables but move them an inch and they break.  

So as you can see I upgraded to something a little more indestructible.  They have a 10 year warranty but I don't really care.  What mattered was they were about the right depth and heights and width and all 3 of those containers fit between the ladder game. And I like the clear look.  

A look in the first one shows a little container of green onions.  1 pot of bok choy, a whole bunch of celery in peat pots, 2 bell peppers, many jalapenos, and Serranos too. I'm leaning towards Salsa this year. Last year it was all about the tomato sauce (I made homemade spaghetti with 2 quarts of tomato sauce tonight and it was delicious - lasagna will be made from the left over sauce later this week).

This tray is full of cold weather veggies and items for the covered square foot garden. Summertime Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, kale, and swiss chard. 

I must admit that I've NEVER eaten chard or kale - I'm only growing them for my parrots.  Oh ya, PARROTS, with an S.  Yes.  And they are super fun! We've had Kiwi, a yellow sided green cheek, since last April.  Today we purchased Mambo, a green cheek. She is not quite a year old and was living with the cutest family but her owner is moving. Today we got Mambo to jump on command, step up when asked and without biting, and target train to learn the clicker and get a treat.  Someone held her all afternoon and Kiwi even showed off his basketball skills while she watched intently. The best part was the end of the day when she let me scratch her head and neck and fell asleep in my hands. 

And last of all I have the 5" peat pots with the heirloom tomatoes.  2 are early girls but the rest are either cherokee purple or pink brandywine. I saved the seeds from the pink brandywine and they grew well last year so I'm using them again.  Best flavor ever!