Is Spring Springing??

We are being blessed with a hint of spring. After all the snow and the cloudy days it is truly a welcome sight to see the sun.  "They" are saying that this uber wonderful weather will be with us for awhile. What an interesting winter it has been!  I made it through a "northern" winter, just a little worse for wear. 
    We have been starting some seeds in the greenhouse this past month.  We have some seedlings coming up!   There is lettuce started and it is looking really nice.  Mars planted a couple of different varieties and a few are ready to be transplanted.  

The broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage are all doing well and have been transplanted up to the next size containers.  They will be ready to put out before to much longer. I started some tomato's a couple of weeks ago and they didn't seem to want to sprout.  I went out yesterday to water them, thinking I had probably tried starting them a bit too soon.  Tomato's need warm soil to sprout.  I was SO surprised today when I took a peek at them.  Five little sprouts were poking up!  Which means there are probably some more getting ready to do the same thing.  Today Mars started about 12 more tomato's and twice that many green peppers.  I can't wait to see how many come up. 

    Some folks know that I have problems growing herbs. I have tried and tried but really haven't had alot of luck.   For some reason they just don't like me.  I can't seem to get them to sprout, much less grow into "real" plants.  Of course there are a couple of things that I haven't had many problems growing, like basil and sage.  Those are "easy" to grow, even for the beginning gardener. 

    Now I don't want to jinx things by bragging BUT I have to share this with you. A few weeks ago I once again tried my hand at planting herbs.  With the way my luck has always gone I really wasn't expecting too much.  I planted some Rosemary, Dill, Marjoram, Parsley, Thyme and some Lavender.  I am surprised and really really happy to tell you that every single bit of it(except the parsley) is coming up!  I don't know how it will all end up but WOW!!
    I think that maybe the parsley seed just isn't viable anymore. We have both tried sprouting it 3-4 times but haven't had any luck.  I have some different seed that I want to try this next time.  I also need to plant some oregano , basil and sage soon. I feel it's important to have seasonings in your "box of tricks".  Food fatigue is real and having herbs and spices to change up your meals is a great way to avoid it.


    Now the reason I am even bringing up what has been planted and how it has done is to try and make a point. This has to do with prepping. I hear so many folks who say that if SHTF then they will just grow their own food. That sounds really good doesn't it?  They buy some fancy "Survival Garden in a Can" and think they can just plant it when things get tough.  I have news for those guys.... it ain't that easy!
     As with many other things, you need to actually DO it. You can't expect to stick some seeds in the ground and magically have food ready for your table in a few weeks. Gardening is  a story of trials and errors There are all sorts of tricks and little secrets that make it easier to grow things.  So if you haven't ever grown your foods before and expect to feed you and your family when things get tough, you might want to start working on it NOW. 

    The same thing goes for just about everything. It is great to have all the "stuff" you will need when SHTF.  I highly recommend it. The thing is though that you need to know what to do with all that "stuff".  Just because you have seeds doesn't make you a gardener.  So what if you have the stuff you need to build a fire... Or if you have a dutch oven you plan on cooking your meals in. If you have never done it before, odds are it's going to take some practice to get it right.  When you are in a crisis situation the last thing you want to do is to be bumbling around trying to figure things out.
                       ~~~ Hey ... I'm Just Sayin' ... ~~~