You know, it is so fun ordering plants in the dead of winter. There is such hope, such promise, envisioning the possibilities and it is just dang fun to think about filling a space with luscious color... but when the orders start flooding in it can be totally overwhelming.
Tuesday afternoon we had visits from UPS and FedEx.
Here's the list:
500 crocosmia bulbs
1300 lily bulbs
600 phlox bare roots
5000 assorted annuals
It is important to get everything unpacked, hydrated and into the ground as soon as possible so we turn the little barn into a staging area and plan our strategy. The weather forecast sucks for the next three days, high winds and cold temperatures with rain. Total bummer, but farming is not for whimps.
The bulbs and bare roots come packed in peat moss, wrapped in large plastic bags, nestled in crates, that are housed in cardboard crates. The cardboard crates are then stacked inside larger boxes for shipping. Yes, we do recycle--so a big Earth Day shout out for Bingham Curbside Recycling!
The annuals come in plug trays, like the six packs you buy in the garden centers, but these trays contain hundreds of cells holding hundreds of seedlings. (I nearly cry each time I unpack trays with 392 cells--they are killers. The seedlings are usually small and delicate and it takes a long time to plant 392 seedlings.) The trays are covered with netting, like a sexy little red fishnet stocking, to secure the seedlings for shipping. Then each tray is covered with bubble wrap. Each tray rests on a cardboard flat with sides that fold up to create sides at the right height to protect the plants. (More recycling.) The trays are then stacked in boxes and shipped.
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Typical April day, cold with HIGH winds. RT, my hero, took the dirty job planting outside.
Lily bulbs ready for planting--roots down, pointy end up.
A row of lilies ready to be covered in. The black line down the center is drip tape, buried with the bulbs so that the water is directed to the roots.
Inside the greenhouse the wind was not blowing 30 mph, lucky me. I filled the spaces Carey and I cleaned out and prepared last week.
My good friend, Brenda, helped me plant in the afternoon, what an angel. We filled the greenhouse with hundreds of seedlings--snap dragons, matricaria and bells of Ireland.
It took us two and a half days to set in all the plants shipped...and then when the weather turned warm. That is so Idaho--so we did some direct seed planting. RT planted cosmos, dill, fox tail millet, orach, and sunflowers.
We have this great little planter that drops the seed at perfect intervals based on the size of the seed.
As the seeder is pushed it causes a disc with holes to rotate like a Ferris Wheel, collecting the seeds one by one. Then they are dropped into a shoot set at the proper soil level. A small chain drags over the furrow created by the shoot, burying the seeds and the back wheel compresses the soil. Ingenious!
Now it is just a matter of walking the seeder down the miles and miles of rows.
Four huge days, we are exhausted and feeling our age but in a few short weeks we will be reaping the benefits of thousands and thousands of beautiful flowers.
Happy Earth Day!
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