It's planting time!

This week I started getting some of the seeds planted. I was a little late getting those onions in the dirt, but the peppers and tomatoes are right on schedule. Planted so far are:

• Red Zeppelin Onions (gotta love the name! haha!)
• Candy Onions (in place of my favorite Expression which were "out of stock")
• Red Marble Onions
• Hardy Scallions (the first planting... these will continue every few weeks)
• Peppers: Peacework, Revolution, New Ace, Carmen, Jalapeno, Valencia, and Flavorburst
• Tomatoes: Brandywine, Green Zebra, Oregon Spring, Pruden's Purple, Amish Paste, Juliet, and Sun Gold Cherry

I'm very excited about the new peppers and tomatoes I'm trying this year. Those would be Peacework, Revolution, and Flavorburst peppers; Green Zebra, Oregon Spring, and Pruden's Purple tomatoes. I've discovered that tomatoes and peppers are my favorite vegetables to grow. I enjoy starting them in the house and watching them come up, transplanting them, turning the house into a jungle, moving the plants out to the cold frames and greenhouse, and then planting them in the garden. Then comes the REALLY great part--watching the plants really take off in the garden soil and produce their fruit. I really enjoy the challenge of coaxing early tomatoes and peppers in short Minnesota growing season.

I am hoping to put up a hoophouse for my tomatoes and peppers this year. I would love to extend our harvest season another month or two. I've been doing some research on these things, and currently am trying to decide if we have the know-how to build one from scratch or if we'd be better off with a kit. Cost will most likely be the deciding factor. So, most likely we will be building one without the assistance of a kit. Thankfully I have been able to find a few different websites and books with very good instructions. Of course, that won't happen for a few more months--we have to wait for the snow to melt first!!!

In the meantime I can create my little jungle inside the house. I'll be posting photos as everything starts getting green. Spring is just around the corner!