Seeds!

I'm playing a bit of hooky from the studio today to play around with some seeds and later this afternoon to do some yard work outside (it's the first warm day in a while!).  My mom and I did the majority of the seeds last week (tomatoes, herbs, more peppers, etc.) and they are sitting on her patio window sill, which is much more sunny than mine!

This morning I planted mostly lots of jalapeno peppers, some basil, oregano, and beans.  I used wrapping paper tubes I saved from Christmas and some toilet paper tubes as well to hold the seed starting mix.  I cut up a cereal box for the labels and used an old baking sheet and cake pan to hold them. 

I'm experimenting this year with dry beans.  I bought these from the grocery store because they don't really sell many types of dry beans at the nurseries around here (mostly black eyed peas and cow peas...whatever cow peas are).  I got a bag of black beans, pinto beans, dark red kidney beans and a mixed bag.  Dry beans need a long growing season (according to the internet), which we don't really have here...but I know it can still be done just under the wire if they're planted early enough.  You usually aren't supposed to start beans indoors, but I'm just experimenting to see if they even sprout and will plant more outdoors as well if they do. 

I know what some of these beans are, but not all.  Maybe someone out there knows what the mysterious ones are?  Starting from the top left and working right and then clockwise, there are:  black eyed peas, butterbeans???, chick peas, some kind of white bean...maybe navy??, some kind of red and tan marbled bean, lima, pinto, a weird white bean with orange spot, really curious as to what this is, black beans, dark red kidney, and light red kidney.  I eat a TON of beans...so I hope these work out!

I also am planting some cotton seeds just for fun.  We definitely don't have a long enough growing season here in our zone 5a upstate New York, but I can grow it just for fun and see what happens.  My cousin who lives in Texas collected spilled cotton from a field and sent it to me...thanks McKenzie!!

Grow seeds grow!!