So far we've got all the peppers, eggplant and heirloom tomato seeds started in the greenhouse! I think there were about 30 different hierloom tomato varieties and we planted 24 of each of those! We still have the late hybrid tomato varieties to plant for outside field grown. The hybrid tomatoes we started earlier are ready to be transplanted out to the hoophouse any time now and we still have the okra, cuccumbers and summer squash to get started in the greenhouse The problem is Greg is to leave Sunday for a week business trip!

Columbia Farmers' market started this past Saturday! So I spent last week rounding up supplies and making new signs and labels for things. Went through all the jams and jellies and did inventory. Found I was lacking on Elderberry, Goumi, Strawberry and Peach. So Thursday I made strawberry, strawberry rhubarb and peach jam. This week I hope to get the elderberry and goumi done! Friday was such a beautiful day up around 70 degrees! I baked for market, I made banana coconut, banana, applesauce, zucchini and chocolate zucchini breads and rosemary flat bread! I cleaned out the truck and loaded the tables, tents, tent weights, etc. Greg came home and we finished loading the jams, baked goods, etc. We also took lots of eggs, dried tomatoes, dried apples and dried peppers, my lye soap and honey ointment. Then Sat. morning came...not so nice! Columbia had about 2" of snow and it all came while we were at market! It was a very wet snow, perfect for snowballs...in fact there was a little girl I saw making a snowman! But it was not good for standing outside for 4 hours trying to sell food! I was surprised though at the number of people who did venture out...I don't know who was crazier the farmers or the customers for being out in that mess. I actually saw 2 people come in shorts, and several in sandals or no coats! We at least had on our insulated coveralls! Oh well that is Missouri weather for you, hopefully this Sat. will be better?! The long range forecast is for rain, but I think it is to be warmer! That is some better...

Well I think only about 4 of those tomatoes that Greg grafted the other day are going to make it! They look pretty bad! But I guess we'll have to try again, practice makes perfect! We've been starting seed in the greenhouse. We've got all the peppers and egg plant planted and I planted some cilantro, parsley, basil and more fennel. I also got my rosemary cuttings potted and took a few more cuttings to root. The thyme and oregano seed I started several weeks ago and one tray of fennel is sprouted and doing well, so making a little progress.

Yesterday I worked on getting ready for Columbia's farmers' market which starts this Saturday! Should be fun, they are calling for cold rainy weather possibly turning to snow! The fun keeps on coming! I made strawberry, strawberry rhubarb and peach jam yesterday. I made new labels and signs, bagged dried apples, tomatoes and bell peppers, went through and organized and inventoried the jams and jellies. Got them crated up and ready to put in the truck. Today I'm going to bake banana bread, banana coconut bread, zucchini and applesauce bread, and make some chocolate chip cookies and flat bread for tomorrow, plus we need to get the tables and tent and everything else loaded into the truck tonight! So I'd better get moving!

It was a busy weekend! We went to Earth City on Friday to Hummerts to pick up seed potatoes, onion sets and a roll of plastic mulch. Then we came home and Greg finished up making his chamber to put his grafted tomato plants in. Saturday we were transferring our wild tom cat that we have in a dog crate in the house to a clean crate when he got away from us! So we had to hunt him down and get him put in his clean crate! Not a fun job, he is wild and very mean! The reason we have him in the house is because he some how got his back foot chewed off and couldn't get around very well or get to the food bowl. So we are just trying to give him a dry warm place with access to food and water so he can heal! Which I think he is doing very nicely after seeing him move across the kitchen floor and up the stairs!!!!!! After we got that done we drove to Versailles and picked up some more seed potatoes, seeds and candy onion sets that we had ordered from Morgan County Seed. Then when we got home Greg worked on grafting his tomatoes! Then that afternoon and night we were over to Columbia for the State Basketball playoffs. Greg and his brother from St. Louis always go to that, so while they did that my sister in law and I went antique shopping!! Then after church on Sunday we drove to the Kansas City airport to pick up our son from his Spring Break trip out to Colorado and Utah!

Megan got the other little chicken house cleaned out! Now all we have to do is get the big one done! Greg got his transplanter put together and most of the trees pruned, just a handful left. Megan and her boyfriend, who came for the weekend picked up all the tree trimmings and hauled them to the brush pile out back, and we got the pullets wings clipped so they can now go outside! Keeps them from flying over the fence and the dog getting them! But since they weren't used to being outside and coming in for the night I had to gather them all up last night and put back in the houses! Since I haven't been letting them out I forgot to shut them up till after dark and they don't herd in the dark! Fun Fun Fun!

SPRING BREAK

Megan came home last night for the start of her spring break. This morning she's cleaning out one of the little chicken houses! She needs money! Lucas will be home tonight, but he's headed to Denver so I will have to take him to the Kansas City airport tomorrow after he's done his laundry?!

Greg is coming home early today as he finally got his missing parts for his Mechanical Transplanter Wednesday, so he wants to get that finished, plus he's still pruning peach trees.

It is so nice to see the sun and the warmer temperatures, but now the work really starts...

Well Greg is still waiting for parts for his Mechanical Transplanter, so he hasn't gotten that finished putting together! But we are keeping busy. Thursday night we went to a meeting for the Fulton Farmers' Market. Friday we went down to Springfield, Greg had a Mid America Strawberry Grower's meeting in Mountain Grove on Saturday. So we took our son who's going to school at Missouri State University, out to Red Lobster to eat on Friday night, then I took Greg to Mt. Grove for his meeting and then went back to Springfield to spend the morning with Lucas, then I went back to Mt. Grove at noon to finish up the meeting out at a growers farm looking at his strawberries! We left there around 3:30 and drove home in time to do chores! Yesterday Greg started pruning peach trees. While he pruned I loaded all the cuttings into a trailer to haul off. Boy were we both sore and tired after that! Out of shape...

Things are sprouting in the green house. We have tomatoes, kohlrabi, broccoli, cabbage, radicchio, thyme and oregano up. Still waiting for the parsley and cilantro to sprout. I am going to plant a tray of fennel this morning when I go out to do chores.