Haha Marj good one.

My plans for the day are working around the house, cooking, studying and a bit of gardening. I need to get my trays and lights setup but that's going to be for another day. We're also trying to consume plenty of immunity boosting foods including:

apple cider vinegar astragulus calendula cayenne pepper cinnamon cloves echinacea elderberry fennel garlic ginger ginseng horehound horseradish lemon balm licorice onions oregano peppermint rosemary seaweed thyme turmeric shiitake mushrooms / other mushrooms

Might be passing on the astragulus as it was something new to us and made both of of very itchy.

Good luck to everyone riding out the virus storm.

Hi all!

Yeah, this is a challenging situation, for sure. So glad you're safe in your roost, Skybird! :)

Last week I started some lettuce seed under my tiny little grow light setup, and hope to get a indoor salad garden going. Will post some results if I get them....

Also: Anyone looking to plant peas or other cool weather crops this week? I usually wait at least a couple weeks after the "traditional" St. Pats planting date, as I'm further north than some of you; but I might be re-thinking my planting schedule as I'd like to get stuff going as soon as possible and use heavy-duty frost cloth if needed. Thoughts?

Best wishes from Fort Collins,

L

Wow gjcore - that's a lot of immunity boosters!! Good for you - just hope you aren't mixing them all together! Might not be very tasty that way ;) I use a few of those in my regular meals, but probably not enough to help. I'm going to drink a cup of the elderberry tea daily. I let it steep several minutes before drinking, and then leave the tea bag in the cup. Not sure if that will be beneficial enuf, but hope it helps. But in any case, it tastes great! I buy straight elderberry, but maybe I'll add some cinnamon, clove and ginger from your list for the added benefits!

I'm with you Skybird - love seeing the new growth in the spring! I have quite a few Hyacinth coming up and buds are forming! Love their scent!! My red poppies are leafing out, as well as the irises.

You reminded me, Laura - I want to start some lettuce as well!

Happy St. Patty's Day tomorrow!

Marj, yes we are not doing everything everyday except for garlic, thyme and ginger. Mixing some stuff in everyday. Might try doing the elderberry everyday.

I got mullein out the wazoo here at the house and at the Arsenal. Heck, if I see any of you out in one of the pastures at either place digging up mullein rosettes I’ll start dancing for joy! It is after all an invasive species so you can all the mullein you can dig free and clear! Just be sure to stock up on cattail roots while you’re at it (they are edible).

I wasn’t going to put in the effort to do any gardening this year. I have to make all new beds and put up new fences and figure out all new irrigation before I can even start. But this whole situation has me rethinking that decision.

Oooo, good to know Zach! You may be seeing all of us out in your pastures digging up your golden supply!! I'd definitely try the cattails as well :)

I think planting at least a small veggie garden would be a good idea, if you can swing it.

gjcore - a bit of each ingredient in different meals, or spread out during the day, sounds like a great idea! Or heck, try mixing it all together in one batch and see what it tastes like! Who knows - it mIght actually taste good! :^D

> try mixing it all together in one batch and see what it tastes like!

Protip: don't, I repeat, don't put Brussels sprouts in your fruit smoothie. Source: experience.

Shouldn’t you be putting fruit in your “fruit smoothie” Oladon ;).

Misty, please do! I hate both cattails and mullein... and all other weeds. Mullein was also used to treat tuberculosis, so it may prove “dual purpose” for a respiratory virus like Corona (but PLEASE, for the love of God, do not try to use the same leaf for both purposes).

lol, thanks for the laugh Zach!!

> Shouldn’t you be putting fruit in your “fruit smoothie” Oladon ;).

Ohhhhhhh... is that why they call it that?!?

I'm here to help, Misty, lol.

I mean, I don't think it's a law or anything, but I feel like Brussels sprouts generally have a pretty limited versatility haha.

I was digging through my seed box and I found lots of Mung seeds and micro green seeds. I used to have a sprouter jar but no longer do. Anyone have any sprout starting hacks for me?

Use any quart jar, Cat, canning, mayo, or anything about that size. I don't remember exactly what you do with the seeds when you first put them in the jar--soak for a certain amount of time or exactly what--but do that and then rubber band cheesecloth over the top so you can rinse and drain them as needed--don't remember the exact timing, but I'm sure it's googleable! If you don't have cheesecloth, find a piece of some other very lightweight fabric that will act as close to cheesecloth as possible--as I recall, you need to maintain some air circulation. It's been a LONG time! (60s!) But any jar with a "lightweight" cover that water and air goes thru should work. Even a piece of "modern" plastic screen from an old window screen should work--cut a small piece and "pull it down" over the top and rubber band it in place. Just be sure that the holes aren't bigger than whatever seeds you're using--cheesecloth could be doubled to solve that problem. Does that help?

Skybird

Weird spring! We’ve been social distancing for two weeks. And I work from home but with kiddo and husband that’s been fun. Sarcasm intended.

No help on toilet paper. I have my onions and lettuce coming up. I guess you could make lettuce work if you had to. Was going to put some seeds in the ground and start my tomatoes and peppers but struggling to get to it despite being excited about gardening this year. I’m half motivated and half exhausted with this whole thing. Our top priority this year is finishing a drain and a few heads in the backyard so we can put down sod or seed. That and keeping the trees and perennials alive from last fall. But it’ll be too mucky for awhile.

It’s great to hear/see everyone joking around. Stay safe and reach out if you need anything.

Yes, we have to grab some humor wherever we can these days! A few of my co-workers got together for a virtual lunch yesterday using Zoom video comm app. It was kind of fun! I made cookies the night before to share with everyone - lol.

There were a couple of funny youtube videos I saw, but this one you might relate to a bit rossnagl (or anyone else doing homeschooling due to the recent events). Although I never homeschooled our daughter, and she is an adult now, I would likely have the same challenges as this woman. Granted, she is a professional comedian, but still found it funny! https://youtu.be/gpN9CGrK6IQ

Gotta make the trek to Costco today to pick up prescriptions, and stand in line for TP. Then back to hunkering down. May shovel a path to my garden bench so I can get out my potting mix for starting some more seeds. May also shovel a path to the shed so I can get out the plant lights to help my butterfly weed along - most are doing fine, but a few seem rather stunted. I have them still in the South facing window, but now that they are seedlings they must need more light than what that is providing.

Marj

Loving the humor, everyone! Exactly what we need right now!

Also, for anyone who knows who Steve Hartman is--CBS Evening News "On the Road" segments every Friday--starting on Monday he's hosting a "Kindness 101" program on FB Live--if you know what that is! I don't! I don't do FB anymore for a bunch of years now! Am hoping I'll be able to see it at the second link!

https://www.facebook.com/CBSEveningNews/photos/pb.340093714072.-2207520000../10158475873839073/?type=3&eid=ARCnJpl0ns4eKWi5UyrJ10g_WB0r_MFlfewHn1umq0pRBTBFmWBOwkdSumyFZ-zUIaNWioRriCkOl31G

https://www.facebook.com/OnTheRoadCBS/?fref=mentions&;tn=K-R

If you're in the mood for a tear-jerker, watch the short video titled "Adopted boy is on a mission to save old dogs who need a home." That's the kind of stories he does every week. I think he's an amazing human being!

I'm glad you're all here!

Skybird