...with silver bells and cockle shells...

I have a maternal affection for our seedlings. I spend time gazing lovingly at them, imagining for them a world free of pollution and stress. I have visions of how they will grow tall and strong and green (except the purple basil). I take pictures of them from every angle.

week old tomato seedlings

I laugh at the baby onions: unfolding from the ground like a newborn foal taking first steps, awkward and gangly.

week old "Borettana" onion seedlings

It's an exciting week for Edible Oasis: as you can see, three varieties of tomatoes ("Wapsipinicon", "Purple Cherokee", "Blondkopfchen"), "American Flag" leeks, purple tomatillos, basil (a blend from Botanical Interests called Dolce Vita: "Cinnamon", "Genovese", "Tall Lemon", "Lime", "Mammoth", "Purple Petra"), and dwarf marigolds have all germinated inside. It's time to think about full-spectrum lighting for these guys.

week old basil seedlings

week old "American Flag" leek seedlings

week old marigold seedlings

Outdoors, I tossed some Winterwood compost into the root vegetable bed. Winterwood uses a blend of composted shellfish and composted manure but manages to smell less noxious than peat. After one final rake-through, we sowed "French Breakfast" radishes and "Purple Dragon" carrots.

The pea patch is thriving after a slow start.

We have four varieties of peas in the ground for a total of 100 plants in the pea patch, give or take. (What? We really like peas!) From a long list, we chose "Early Frosty", "Alaska", "Green Arrow", and "Sugar Daddy". We also have some "Sugar Daddy" growing in containers on the deck.

It's so exciting to see the magic happening!