Starting Spring Seedlings - Knowledge-Seekers Homesteading Photography Contest

Please do enjoy this Legend of Zelda fairy fountain soundtrack as you read. It makes everything feel magical and fits the germinating-seed mood!  

Ahhh the sounds of zelda, of bird song and the pitter patter of rain on the roof, sure signs that spring has arrived! 

Even with over a foot of snow still on the ground on our mountaintop, it feels pretty balmy outside. In the sun, I can be out and about without even a sweater! Its refreshingly warm and cheery around here, and my plants, chickens and friends all agree. 

We have begun cleaning the house, going for hikes and planting seeds. Now that it is getting just a little bit warmer, there is a lot to get done. As the snow melts and reveals what is underneath, more things will appear that need to get done. Probably a lot of half-finished tasks from last year when we suddenly got dumped on! Oh, thank goodness it is going away. 

It sure is a lot more productive and amusing when its warm outside and the plants start to grow. 

Our animals are all pretty happy too! The doggo Drea enjoyed coming on a hike with us, and the chicken crew have ventured out to the few thawed patches of ground to scritch and scratch to their hearts content and entertain us with their antics. 

Right now, they are all parading back and forth from the coop to the bare ground behind the house making funny noises and on the lookout for anything to nom on. They are all really wet chickens too! They don't mind rain as much as snow. 

Chickens are the best entertainment, we have spent a lot of time chicken watching in the sunny weather, and cleaning up their soggy coop (tbh @offgridninja did nearly all of that this time). It was pretty funny to chicken-gaze well attending to other chores outside, as usual. 

I don't know if you knew this, but wet chickens are goddamn hilarious! They are soggy birds with mohawks and most of them look like they rolled around in the mud, I am assuming that is because that is what they did. They are happy chickens, regardless, because its above freezing for the first time in like 3 months and they have things to scratch at outside in the warmth. Simple birdos they are. 

And along with the chickens my plants and seedlings are also all pretty perky, especially thanks to the grow-light I bought myself for my birthday. So far I had only planted onions, kale and other salad greens because they can tolerate the low temperatures of our house at night. With things looking warmer from here on out and a new supply of firewood, I figured we could plant some herbs and flowers too.

There is nothing like planting seeds on a sunny day! This year I am doing this all with a bit more planning and experience, and am trying to abide to the bio-dynamic calendar at least a little bit. Apparently its a good day today to plant things which you will harvest the flowers, so I planted flowers and herbs... and some leafy greens too. Its hard for me to do things in such an organized way, some things you gotta just say fuck it and experiment. 

I am re-using the seed starting trays and left over peat pellets from last year, which are pretty decent. The peat pellets are a little finicky, but expand with water quite a bit and also retain moisture well. Last year I found they retained moisture a little bit too well, and were soggy enough for my seeds to mold. I think the key is to not over-water them and ventilation.

And yeah, the kitchen table is the best place to operate around here. It is always the hub of activity, and a good place to plant the seedlings!..... At least I think it is! Ha ha. 

I planted herbs like vervian, sage, catnip, thyme and mallow and flowers like the 4'oclock and morning glory. Flowers and herbs are my favorite sort of plants, I could not have too many beautiful and fragrant plants around.... though that sorta sounds like a fun challenge. 

I really have a plant collecting obsession I think, cuz they are the most rewarding thing to collect in my opinion! Thus, I plan on collecting some more seeds when we venture into town this weekend, somehow. Plant and seed manifestation! 

Other then the new seeds I planted, a lot of my other plants are also flourishing! A lot of them were lookin pretty sad a couple months ago, but most have been revived by the sunbeams. 

I have wood sorrel that grows fast enough that I can use the leaves in salads every week or so, and lots of herbs such as mint, sage and yerba buena (I think thats what it is called) which make excellent teas (which is very important!). 

Most joyously, some of the purple flowers that I have acquired have also bloomed, such as my pansy and hyacinth. Nearly as exciting, my hardy kiwi cuttings have grown leaves again, and are growing like crazy! I think these are the long term plants I am most stoked for, they are super hardy and make tiny grape sized kiwis!  Such deliciousness!

Of course, the veggies are probably the most practically important, and I am glad these tiny kale are growing so well! I am excited to eat them, I miss fresh garden foods. I am going to start tomatoes and maybe some other stuff too next week, and start constructing a temporary cold frame when the snow melts more.

I am stoked for all the work there it to get done when the snow melts and for the fiery Aries energy that will melt it all and inspire tons of action!

Headstrong action, yeah, but progress forward no matter what. Thats what I am craving; movement, sunshine, and opportunity for action! I relate to the chickens and to the seeds in the ground, cuz I feel all cooped-up and I just wanna get up and out to feel the warm soil and sunshine already!

I bet anyone else who lives in the northern hemisphere feels the same way right about now, don't you? We know that spring is emerging, but its still like an itch you can't scratch... but... just almost! 

Grow baby seeds, grow strong!

Thank you for stopping by and enjoying the signs of spring with me, and most importantly starting spring seedlings! This contest is hosted by @knowledge-seeker and the theme was spring seed starting, how lovely! I do hope you enjoyed this submission and I had a lot of fun taking pictures and writing about it. Germinating seeds is a blessed task! 

If you enjoyed this post, do not fret, there is more! Check out these links for more recent and quality posts from @skycae!

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