Kozy Coats make useful season extenders for the garden

It's still pretty cold here, and I know many people won't be planting their tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and other heat loving vegetables until May, or even June.  I like to get a jump on the season by using Kozy Coats, a teepee made of plastic tubes which you fill with water.  The sun heats the water, and the temperature inside the teepee is considerably warmer than the air temperature.  I have a raised beds, which warm faster than the rest of the soil, and I set out my Kozy Coats several weeks before I intend to plant my seedlings.  This allows the soil under the teepees to warm as well.  I bought the green ones quite a few years ago (these were actually called Wall 'O Waters), and aside from a few small punctures (don't use sharp tools around these!), they've held up quite well. You can get replacement tubes though, so that can make them last even longer.   I recently got some of the red ones because the red color is supposed to produce stronger, stockier tomato plants with higher yields.
This is where I'll plant my tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.

 
And not only has it been a cold Spring so far, it's also been pretty wet.  And although I placed the garden where it gets the most sun, it's also in a low lying area, which means flooding.  That's another reason I built raised beds.  The beds themselves drain well, but the rows between can have a lot of water, making it difficult to work in the garden in Spring.  My solution this year (instead of patiently waiting for the rows to dry out) was to lay down several layers of newspaper topped by some old wooden boards.  Newspaper is good for the garden anyway, and earthworms love it.  Earthworm castings (worm poop) provide fertilizer for the plants and their tunnels help aerate the soil.  Before I rigged up this little walkway the water was up over the top of my shoes, and there was a lot of mud under that.

I'll use my soil thermometer to periodically check the soil temperature under the Kozy Coats, and when it's warm enough (hopefully within a few weeks) I'll plant my little vegetables in their warm coats.  This is what they look like in the house right now.  So far they're doing pretty well.
 
Before long I'll be munching on nice fresh tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, and more fresh from the garden! ;-)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Starting seeds indoors

It may still be cold and snowy, but now is the time when I start planting my seeds indoors for the garden.  I've been starting seeds indoors for years, and generally have been pretty successful.  I started my lettuce a little earlier than usual this year, but I want to plant it outside sooner than I usually do.  I have row covers for frost protection, so they should be OK if I put them outside in March.  I also started my sweet Bell Pepper and my Eggplant seeds this week.  They take longer to mature and produce vegetables, so I want to get them started as soon as possible.  They won't go outside until May, maybe late April if I have enough Kozy Coats. You fill the tubes with water, which warms in the sun.  The plant stays nice and cozy warm, even when the temperature outside drops.
This year I'm starting some of my seeds using the bottom of paper egg cartons.  I filled each cell with seed starting mix and set the entire thing in a basin af warm water.  The carton and seed starting mix soak up as much water as they need.  Then I put the carton in a dry basin, add the seeds, and cover lightly with more starting mix.  When it needs water I just add water to the basin and it's soaked up as needed.  That way I don't disturb the seeds.
 
Once the roots start to grow through the bottom of the cups it's easy to separate each cup and plant the whole thing in a larger pot.  This way you don't have to disturb the delicate roots.  This year I'm using a spare closet for my plants.  The florescent plant light hangs on the curtain rod and I've set it up so I can use the entire closet to grow my plants.  The lettuce is doing quite well.  I moved it into larger pots after about two week.  I'm using plastic yogurt cups which I washed thoroughly.  It's very important to keep everything clean if you want to keep your seedlings healthy.  Now all the lettuce should be fine until I'm ready to plant it outdoors.  And by the time I do get it outside it should be strong enough to handle the weather.
 
So this is how my garden gets started.  And this really helps me get through the last month or two of winter!  I like to take care of my little plants and enjoy their fresh green colors and scents.  Plus it's SO much cheaper to start your own seeds than it is to buy plants at a nursery.  Buying seeds rather than plants allows me to plant a wider variety of vegetables, without blowing my budget.  Stay tuned to watch my little green seedlings turn into full grown plants full of delicious vegetables! =)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters