I Miss Summer!!!!

Megan Venturella

I just can’t tell you all how desperate I am for summer. I can’t stop buying seeds and watching gardening videos! I feel like warm weather will never come! WHAT’S WRONG WITH ME?!?!? I don’t even want spring vegetables I want to skip straight to July and taste homegrown tomatoes 🍅 😂 😭 I’m going to need to find some kind of support group soon before I drive my family crazy and they lock me up in a padded cell for my own good.

LaurieLovesLearning

@Megan Venturella You are experiencing winter & warm weather withdrawal. Haha I would suspect it is a form of ptsd as well.

I think in an emergency such as this, the proper treatment protocol is to plant a few things in pots, then go sit with them under your grow lamps until they sprout & you are feeling better...or you sprout & they feel better.

If they lock you up in a padded cell you need to have conditions attached. That you can bring your grow light, soil, pots, and all of your seeds. It is like your emotional support animal that you need to help ease your ptsd.

I also think you need to have a talk with @Cornelius. He has experience with mental health in this type of situation. 😉

If you noticed above, I gave you a hug. But, you need to follow through with the other steps to find any relief.

marjstratton

Nothing wrong with thinking about all the joys that summer will bring. And, now (or very soon) is the time to start those sweet little tomato plants so they will be beautiful and strong for the summer. Sending you hugs and strength and I know you will make it to your goal to reach that luscious summer warmth and all the attendant summer veggies.

Michelle D

@Megan Venturella I know how you feel. I am also driving my family nuts with it.

I agree with @LaurieLovesLearning. Plant something in pots. It won't be enough but it will help take the edge off. Yesterday, I planted potatoes in grow bags in my basement. I know it's crazy! My family just shakes their heads at me. But I had grow bags that were empty. I had sprouted potatoes. I had soil. I had a grow light that I wasn't using at the moment. I don't think I had any other choice.

LaurieLovesLearning

I should add that chicken breeders (from official breeders to very small backyard newbies) have this same problem, but last year seemed especially bad. I remember seeing chicks for sale at the beginning of January. I even hatched little guys in December.

Of course, at least the seramas are tiny and don’t take the space that other larger breeds do. After that was done though, I had to wait to do any more. At least this is where quail can help fill in the gap. 😁

So, a warning, if you get any type of incubator instead of just relying on broody hens, be very, very careful...

Michelle D

@LaurieLovesLearning I'm all set up to get my first set of chicks. I have been anxious to order them. So far I have been patient to wait for a bit warmer weather but I'm not going to make it much longer!

LaurieLovesLearning

@Michelle D Ordering is not as bad as hatching them, so I would say this should be okay (know what you are prepared for). It's not like in 21 days you know will have chicks because the incubator(s) is(are) humming away and keeping your full attention.

A hatchery will wait until closer to spring to start hatching. A breeder may start early to fill orders with the limited stock he/she has or to fill those orders that want hens to lay that summer. If they have a warm space for growing chicks, this is do-able, but they run the risk that buyers aren't prepared to buy or have adequate housing.

Either way, the buyer still needs to be prepared for cold weather and have a plan for power outages.

Megan Venturella

@LaurieLovesLearning You know something, I was actually already considering asking my sister to hatch some chicks for me. This could be a sign!! This is serious!! Well, I’m off to pot something up. Anything. Maybe ginger. And then I can hang out with it under the grow lights.

Monek Marie

@Megan Venturella Plan a new garden (while sitting by your newly potted seeds)

Do you have a patio or porch garden? You could plan how to create or or redo one. I like to use pots in an area like that and change them out or get a differnt look during seasons.

You could make seed tapes for those small impossible seeds. Paint or redo any pots you have?

Terrarium?

Do you have a window that you could hang pots from or set them on?

LaurieLovesLearning

@Monek Marie Great ideas!

I find that indoor houseplants help. A bonus...I have a tomato & chickweed growing in the base of a couple of them. 😄

MissPatricia

Living in zone 7b means that I don't have to wait as long as many do. However, I don't like the cold so when we have a warm day, I usually get outside to do a little garden or yard work. It is good that I can do this most any month of the year as I can never catch up with all that I need to do, not even with my husband helping more than he used to. Yesterday I made up some soil mixture, emptying my composter, which I had been meaning to do for several months, Then I added peat moss and sand and sort of mixed it (I have a broken rib, which is healing and feeling better after living with it for a month). Today I weeded my 4' x 4' raised bed and added some soil mixture. I have to add more cement blocks so that will have to wait. I am also listening to garden videos. Toward the end of the month I will start some seeds in the house. Can hardly wait.

COWLOVINGIRL

I am thinking about the warm weather too! I have been doing a lot of garden planning though. Love it!

Merin Porter

Oh my goodness, this made me think of Scott Sexton's video about spring gardening fever. It's SO funny! https://thegrownetwork.com/gardening-humor-need-a-laugh-watch-this-now/

Megan Venturella

@Merin Porter That’s me! That video is me right now! Lol

My daughter recently referred to my desk as “the seed thing” if that gives you any idea.

Monek Marie

@Megan Venturella hey if you can still find the desk, its not really that bad.

VermontCathy

The other thing you can do this time of year is cook! Get cookbooks, or look through recipes online. Try new things you haven't made before. Bake with some of the stuff you put by last fall. Experiment with ingredients, and if you like them, you can try to grow their source plants this year. :-)

karenjanicki

It's funny because I'm not much of a summer fan and usually enjoy winter, but this year not so much. We have so much snow and the slush has been terrible. I'm tired of being cold and wet haha

Megan Venturella

https://youtu.be/SCFuDKIwZ3c

Another way to focus my energy!

@VermontCathy Youre right, I really should be cooking, getting organized, doing the indoors things I won’t have time for in April. I’m sure I’ll be whining about how there’s no time for that then.

water2world

@Merin Porter I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS VIDEO! Thanks for the link!! Made my day! lol