Welcome Spring!

Yay! It is officially Spring! Here's how I have been celebrating so far:
A week ago, I had the pleasure of attending a seed swap in Peterborough. It was a crazy rush of people trying to climb over each other to get to various seed stands. I had no idea seeds were such a big deal in this area. I have quite a few left over from last year, but mainly I wanted to get my hands on some heirloom tomatoes and peppers. I ended up with one pack of mixed heirloom tomatoes and one of mixed sweet peppers. I also threw in the striped caverns (seen above) which are drought tolerant and good for canning and sauces - something I am planning on doing a lot of this summer. And finally the Hungarian Yellow Wax Hot Pepper which has a mild heat and dries well :)
This Sunday I spent some time planting my new seeds as well as a few herb seeds (which you can really plant anytime). It was a beautiful afternoon in the sunshine playing with dirt and seeds! And in another couple weeks I will add a few more seeds to the mix. You can still start your tomato/pepper seeds for another week-week and a half. I started mine a little early because I have a sun room with lots of light so the seedlings aren't likely to get too tall and lanky reaching for sunlight before I transplant them outside.
I realized I should like label my seeds, seeing as I have never grown some of the varieties, and I think all the tomato plants will look the same until they begin to bear fruit and ripen. I'm all for using things I have laying around so I grabbed a piece of cardboard, some scissors and a pen and went to work. I simply cut the cardboard into strips and then made a small point at one end. The cardboard only has to hold up for 6-7 weeks and inside with the small amount of water the seeds get each day I think it will stand up fine. :)
So far we have 4-5 different types of tomatoes, 3-4 different types of peppers, oregano, thyme, dill and cilantro. And in a couple weeks I will likely add lettuce and broccoli. Then it will be into the garden with the cooler weather seeds such as beans and peas.
The weather recently has been amazing, more like summer than the end of winter/beginning of spring. But I'm happy about it. I think it is helping me keep my spirits up! And I can't wait to spend some more time in my garden as the days continue to get longer!
Our internet is working again, so things will be back to regular around here. I hope you're having a beautiful Tuesday, let's catch up soon!
xox