Signs of Spring…Maybe

First up, some recent photos of the seedlings, which are growing sturdier by the day:

Arugula in the indoor salad planter.

Chile peppers, leggy kale, and a tomato seedling.

Tomato, tomato, pepper, potted up to keep growing strong.

I also found some signs of spring out in the yard over the last couple of very nice days:

Tulip greening up.

Small groundcover wildflower; name unknown, flowers the size of a pencil eraser.

Small groundcover wildflower with closed pink blooms. When open, the petals of the quarter-sized daisy-style flowers are white and the centers are bright yellow.

Now? It’s snowing.

If anyone has any ideas as to the identity of either of the two wildflowers, please feel free to hazard a guess in the comments!

UPDATE: The white flowers appear to be Spiny phlox (Phlox hoodii) or another native relative.  My research this evening has also identified Scarlet Globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea, native) and Yellow Salsify (Tragopogon dubius, introduced, can be invasive) that I photographed last summer.  I hope it doesn’t take a whole year to ID these little blossoms!

Making Haste Slowly

Very little in the way of new news to share, though there is one sprout in my salad planters as of Saturday’s quick trip to the office to check on seedlings, and there’s evidence that an eggplant is going to sprout.  Friday, I planted some more tomatoes and eggplants, in case something catastrophic happens to the first batch, and I planted kale.  This coming Friday, I’ll get the shallots started (from seed, so apparently not “true” shallots, which Teh Internetz suggests only propagate by bulb division).  The sprouts that came up this week are doing well.

Assorted sprouts.

The Anaheims and onions are still visible in the far container, along with the lemon mint, with the Genovese basil and the so far lone Pasilla in the back corners.  But another Pasilla was suggesting it might sprout soon when I checked on things Saturday.  In the near container, from left to right are: Mexico Midget, Italian Heirloom, Opalka, and Beam’s Yellow Pear, along with the lime basil.

And because we’re gardening at 7200 feet, it was cold and snowy and windy all weekend, so I’ve not yet managed to get anything accomplished outside.

Tomato and Herbs

Just a quick post today, to show off the most recent arrivals.  Today brought a Mexico midget tomato sprout, and yesterday brought the herb sprouts (rows from top to bottom: Genovese basil, lemon mint, lime basil).  The herbs doubled in size over the course of my workday today.  Two herb peats have no-shows, and I’ll replant those Friday if they haven’t arrived by then.

Herbs, herbs, herbs.

Mexico midget is an indeterminate cherry variety.  “Indeterminate” means that it’s a vine type that grows continuously and produces fruit over the course of a season, as opposed to the “determinate” bush varieties that grow to a pre-determined size and set their fruit all at once.  Indeterminates are good for fresh eating all summer and need trellised to support their long vines, while determinates are good for canning and freezing, because the whole crop is usually ready at one time, making for more efficient processing.

Mexico midget tomato sprout.