White Cloud Pepper - Seeds from a commercial source, these sweet bell peppers start white and ripen red/orange. They might be interesting to try out. I planted 18 seeds in 9 holes in this jug.
Yellow Monster Pepper - Another commercially bought seed packet here. I tried these a couple years ago, and they were late to sprout and never produced any peppers. I'm trying them again because they're supposed to be really productive. I planted 9 seeds in this jug.
King Of The North Pepper - I couldn't resist the name. These are sweet bell peppers that are specially adapted for cold regions with short summers (like here). I bought this variety from a local store (commercial packet). I planted 18 seeds in nine holes in this jug.
Rezha Macedonian Pepper - The packet shows the coolest "embroidered" pepper, and a little research tells me the longer it stays on the plant, the more embroidered it becomes. What a cool looking pepper. Like the Yellow Monster, I have tried growing this variety before with little success. We got one pepper but it was tiny and for one reason or another we didn't get to taste it. I planted nine seeds in this jug (commercial source).
Black Pearl Pepper - We grew Black Pearl a couple years ago when I got a seedling from a local nursery. It was gorgeous, and my husband, brother, and father all enjoyed the pepper. I was told it had good flavor (I don't eat hot/spicy things). It is the only pepper so far that my husband has asked for a repeat planting. These seeds came from a trade, but I'm hoping they produce the same beautiful peppers. I planted 18 seeds in nine holes in this jug.
Black Hungarian Pepper - I have a commercial packet of these seeds, but the ones I used are from a trade. I've read a lot of mixed reviews from different commercial sellers for this variety. Some say it's mild, some say it's spicy. I wanted to give it a shot and see how they come out. I planted nine seeds.
Fish Pepper - It took me a couple of years to track down seeds for this variety. The leaves are bicolored, and the peppers are hot. They look interesting. I have tried planting Fish peppers before, but none sprouted. I'm trying again. These seeds came to me from a trade. I planted ten seeds in nine holes (one seed looked defective).
Jimmy Nardello Pepper - These came highly recommended for good production, flavor, and remaining mild enough for my wimpy palette. These seeds came to be as part of a trade. I planted a dozen seeds in nine holes in this jug.
Lipstick Pepper - A variety for the north, early ripening. It came to me as part of a swap and I figured I'd give them a try. They're supposed to be sweet peppers, despite being pointed and looking like a hot pepper. I planted 12 seeds in 9 holes in this jug.
Casper Pumpkin - I had one more lower profile container and figured a squash variety might do better than a pepper in there. I planted six pumpkin seeds in three holes. I bought these seeds from the store a while ago and never got to planting them due to the move last year.
This brings our current winter sowing jug count to 78.
Josh (the goose) and the ducks were upset that their favorite puddle was frozen over and covered in snow. After circling the puddle for a while they managed to break the layer of ice and played in the water for a while. Throughout the day they did the same routine, wandering out from the barn, walking over the thin ice until it broke, playing for a while, then retiring to the barn again. This evening the three ducks came out to the puddle without Josh. He came running out of the barn a minute later, screaming. He hates when he misplaces his ducks.
Further research has taught me that chicks of different ages should not share brooder space. While we have plenty of brooder space to section off, would it be worth it to get another light fixture, heat bulb, feeder, waterer, and tray? I don't have an answer on that. I'm impatient. We put in the order with the hatchery on Thursday and they said it would be up to ten (business) days until they get back to us with a ship date. Even then, they are booked out a ways, so it could be a month wait or longer. Do I just buy some random chicken chicks tomorrow and then separate them later? Do I try to make arrangements to get to Tractor Supply on a Wednesday to get some ducklings and then plan to keep them separate when the surprise box arrives (which may or may not contain more ducklings)? Do I just sit and wait to see what the surprise box contains before jumping in to tracking down (more) ducklings? Logic tells me to wait... but I've always been one to jump in to projects with both feet. Fully immerse myself. Sink or swim.
I checked the ship list for the hatchery again for as far into April as they have posted. They are not shipping goslings or guineas, but are shipping some different varieties of ducks... That means there's a chance we will get ducklings, but there's no chance to get a bonus gosling or guinea. I'm strongly considering ordering goslings online, but I'm not up for two orders of baby birds at once. Perhaps if all goes well with the surprise box, we can order some goslings in June or July. They're a lot more expensive... I've got to sell enough rabbits to be able to pay for this new hobby.
Tony brought home a webcam tonight. He's been working for the last hour trying to get it all set up to feed off the internet on the computer (using a hot spot) to produce a livestream video. Once we get it all set up and running (and fix the basement door), we'll officially be set for chicks to arrive. The idea is to put the camera on the edge of the brooder so people can watch the chicks grow.