The Tiny Tim tomato has quickly been overgrowing the aquaponics tank. It's starting to damage it's own leaves pressing up against the light, but I can't raise the light because the basil is still much smaller. Today I (very carefully) extracted the Tiny Tim tomato from the aquaponics tank and planted it in a bigger plastic bucket. While I was doing that, #3 replanted three tiny cactus plants that she'd started a while ago. We brought them down to the indoor garden so they'd be under the grow lights with the tomato plants and the berry bushes that got brought back in last fall. While we were down there she asked why I hadn't thrown out two plastic cups with dried up dead plants in them. I told her I'd forgotten them in the window last summer and they had dried up. I was desperately hoping they'd come back if I put them under the light and watered them diligently. The other plants that had been forgotten are starting to come back now, but these ones don't seem to be at all. They were Lemonade Blueberry plants I bought last year from Baker Creek, and this year, though I'd checked several times, they weren't carrying them. I'd found Lemonade Blueberry plants a few other places but with shipping they'd be closer to $25-$35+ per plant. An incredible leap from the $15 or something I spent on them from Baker Creek last year.
A while later I sat down at my computer, and just out of curiosity, I went to the Baker Creek website. Much to may amazement and pure delight, I saw they now have Lemonade Blueberry plants in stock. Not to miss the opportunity, I texted Tony at work and let him know and ask him if he'd like me to order just the blueberries or the entire wish list. He knows I've been fighting with myself over spending so much on blueberry plants that won't even fruit for several more years, but I really want them. And as long as I'm placing an order, if it's in the budget, why not order it all at once?
Now, a bit of back story. A couple months ago when the Baker Creek seed catalog came in the mail, the kids took turns looking through it. I told them to look through it carefully, read descriptions, and decide, if you could plant anything this year (that will grow here in this climate), what would you want to order? And as each child went through their list of what they would try and why, I added it to the list. When they'd all finished, I saved the cart (awesome feature Baker Creek - thank you for that).
Today when I saw the blueberries were available, I pulled up that saved cart and added the blueberries to see how much it would cost to get it all. Grand total? $74.50. Less than $75 for ten seed varieties and eight live plants. And they have free shipping!
Here's what I ordered, in case maybe you'd like to try some of these varieties too! Little #5 has already asked if we can winter sow some of these seed varieties. Click the link for more information on each variety.
Kiwano African Horned Cucumber
Ganjyu Bitter Melon
Albino Beet
Sunset Runner Bean
Cherry Vanilla Quinoa
Ailsa Craig Onion
Rose Red Soba (Buckwheat)
Black Goji Betty (Black Wolfberry)
Connovers Colossal Asparagus
Kiku Chrysanthemum Melon
Scarlet Strawberry (3 plants)
Old North Sea Strawberry (3 plants)
Pink Lemonade Blueberry (2 plants)
To add a little surprise to the excitement, it automatically added three "free seed" packs. We will have to see what they send, but I'm excited to see what they pick for us.
Today I set up the second incubator for the eight eggs that are set to hatch on Saturday. Four have actual movement inside when candled, but the other four are either two dark to see inside, or I can't find movement, so we may have a small hatch. There's one egg set to hatch Sunday. I currently have eggs ready to hatch 3/16 (x8), 3/17 (x1), 3/22 (x2), 3/27 (x1), 3/31 (x6), and 4/2 (x4). That is, assuming none get pulled due to no development. Now I will wait a while before putting more in. That way I can clean the incubator out well before the next round of hatching. With warmer weather in the forecast we are more likely to have viable eggs from here on out.
The lime basil I planted is coming up well. No true leaves yet, but I have high hopes. This variety was delightful last year. It smelled so good. When the plant died, I used the same container with some fresh soil and planted more from seed.