In a recent post called “National Agriculture Day Begins at Home,” I shared photos of DF using tweezers to plant celery seeds. They went into the (indoor) dirt on March 12. The morning of March 27 we finally had confirmed sightings of tiny greens, which made us ridiculously happy.
As you can see from the illustration, those greens really are tiny. It will take a long time for them to get some size. And we won’t be able to put them in the garden until Memorial Day.
But gardeners are excited by every step of the process: caring for those first frail green sprigs, repotting them as they grow, putting them into the ground (or the greenhouse), tending and weeding, enjoying the fruits of our labors and finally the late-summer harvest. During the fall and winter we think about what to plant, sketch plans, peruse seed catalogs and websites like Renee’s Garden, and dreaming of the time when the snow leaves and summer returns.
That last won’t happen any time soon. We still have a few feet of snow in the back yard, and it’s currently snowing again.
But we’re Pollyanna-optimistic here at Casa Frugal. We can look at celery seeds not much larger than grains of salt and envision an August bed like this one:
Note: That clover behind the celery bed was left unmowed on purpose. A couple of our neighbors keep bees, and we want to lure them over to our yard to pollinate, pollinate, pollinate.
A few things to win
I’m giving away some lovely items from Denali Dreams, an Anchorage-based company that makes soaps, salves and balms. The winner can choose $35 worth of goodies, and Denali Dreams will throw in a lip-balm lagniappe. Enter by 7 p.m. PDT Friday, April 2.
Savings.com is giving away a clutch of $100 e-gift cards, in two batches:
- Five $100 e-gift cards to Verizon Wireless
- Five $100 e-gift cards to Macy’s
This is a quick-turnaround giveaway that ends at 11:59 PDT Wednesday, March 31, so don’t delay.
Edited to add: Savings.com just announced another quick-turnaround giveaway. It’s a big one: a $500 e-gift card to Home Depot. Go win this! The deadline to enter is 11:59 p.m. PDT Friday, April 9.
A personal finance site called Wealthy Nickel has put a $100 Amazon gift card up for grabs. You have until 11:45 p.m. CST April 11 to enter.
Finally, a website called Fresh Giveaways is handing off a $25 gift card to Amazon or eBay. This one also ends on Wednesday, so be prompt.
Recession-proof your finances
As of February we are officially in a recession, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Not much you can do about that – except to position yourself to ride it out.
The Policy Genius website can help. Its new e-book, “50 Money Moves to Make in a Recession,” can be downloaded for free. With tips on things like paying off bad debt, reorganizing your budget, and cutting costs without giving up on your money goals, the book can let you take charge of your personal finances no matter what’s going on nationally.
“You can’t control the economy. But you can control how you manage your money through the storm,” says author Hanna Horvath.
“Taking the wheel on your finances during a recession can restore feelings of control and lower stress – and save you money. The sooner you act, the more likely you’ll come out of the recession (somewhat) on top.”
Health and wealth
According to the Allianz Life 2020 New Year’s Resolution Study, more than half (57 percent) of U.S. residents said that health/wellness will be their top priority in 2021. Only 23 percent said financial stability is a top focus area, down from 27 percent in 2019.
About 70 percent of the adults surveyed by Bankrate.com say they’d be at least somewhat comfortable with in-person shopping, once they’ve gotten vaccinated. That might slow the nation’s financial recovery, according to senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick.
“The path toward a stronger economy depends on full resumption of consumer spending associated with a successful vaccination effort,” Hamrick says.
My first COVID vaccination made me feel like singing. I’ll be getting my second shot on April Fool’s Day. (Insert your own punchline here.) Anyone else up for a first or second shot in the near future?
Got my 2 vaccine doses in March. We had our first indoor dinner guests in over a year yesterday. It felt great! The fully vaccinated couple were dear friends who live in Florida-they drove to NJ to see family and called us to see if we were vaccinated and could get together. We were supposed to visit with them…..last March in Florida, which did not happen. The husband of the couple was the best man in our wedding 25 years ago. So it seemed fitting that they were our first visitors as our post vaccine world slowly opens up.
I expect the conversation was so intense you barely had time to eat…?
I’ve got sprouts about the same size as yours. From the moment I planted the seeds I’ve been watching. I don’t know why I expect results so quickly…then spend days thinking, “maybe they’re duds,” then finally get so excited when their tiny greenness appears. Just love spring!
It brings hope, even though we will have to wait for months to eat the stuff.
This post just brought a smile to my face, and I thank you for that little spark of joy. Seeing the hope of a green, thriving garden in your two photos is such a simple thing and it made me smile.
Keeps us going, too.
I am in PA and have had my two shots. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since the second one. We are dreaming of maybe finally hitting a thrift shop or two, still masking up and self distancing. I am still leery of all those variants and won’t eat in a restaurant yet. Both of us are senior citizens with health conditions. Hubby got all those side effects from the 2nd shot, but I was ok.
I have grown celery in the past and it tastes wonderful. So full of flavor, compared to the commercial stuff. Thanks for sharing your tiny seedling photos.
We’ve had one round of shots (Moderna). I felt fine but it knocked my husband back for about a day. He also had Covid, so that could be why he had such a bad reaction. Shot #2 is on April 13.
Looking forward to seeing people in person! But not having a cold or flu this winter makes me think I might wear a mask in the future when going out….
We’re with you on the masks while shopping, at least.
In addition to chopping and freezing the celery, we also dehydrate the leaves. This makes a nice flavoring for soups and stews and boy, is there a lot of it.
Just got my 2nd Pfizer shot yesterday – 12 hours out and feeling fine so far.
OI think it is 2 more weeks for immunity. Still getting temp checks and wearing masks at work. Will continue to wear masks when shopping.
Love the greens too. I am hoping to plant morning glories on my western facing balcony this summer.
Morning glories grew in the same weed field as the milkweed I mentioned earlier. So did asparagus, here and there, and sweeet peas. Wondering if that area used to be someone’s kitchen/flower garden before the weeds took it.
I had a few hardy stalks of asparagus that would come up every year in a part of my yard that had gone to weeds and tall grass. This was the yard of a house that had been in my family for six generations. I wondered why they grew there until my mother told me it had been part of my great grandfather’s garden and she remembered picking them with him as a child. I always loved that story and think of it now and then.
We get our second vaccines on April 7. I’m pretty excited about that. The garden is well established and we are racing towards harvest right now. I live in Phoenix and by June its pretty much gone. The peas, kale and chard are all great. I’ll be freezing the kale and chard this weekend and we are enjoying peas with Easter dinner. I expect (hope) to have ripe tomatoes,peppers and eggplant by mid April. This is my first year with a ch
I meant to say chest freezer. I can’t wait to eat my produce in the dead of summer.
My daughter lives in Phoenix, too. I would garden until I couldn’t if I lived there, and I’d have dwarf citrus trees, too.
Planted a dozen parsley seeds. One is up and looks like your celery. I plant parsley for monarch butterflies. They love to lay eggs on the herb and then comes the very hungry caterpillars. One parsley plant is not going to do. Considering getting new seed if more don’t germinate in the next week.
Chives and basil look heathy though.
When I was a kid, a weedy field behind our home had a lot of milkweed, which monarchs adore. It was fun to see the butterflies flitting around, and one time I watched a butterfly hatch. It crawled out, wings all crumpled, and sat there patiently moving them until it was able to fly away.
Hey, we didn’t have cable — we had to make our own fun.
We have four parsley plants so I think the caterpillars will be satisfied.
My 86 year old dad is having surgery today. One of his instructions to me was keep the seedlings moist. I take it is a good sign. He plans to see those seedlings grow. I think gardeners are optimists!
I just got my first shot today and I feel such a wave of relief. Added to my happiness is the appointment I was given for my second dose…my birthday in three weeks! I cannot think of a better birthday gift to receive than to be fully vaccinated. My good friend and neighbor, a nurse, was working at the community center today and she gave me the shot. I feel fine and perhaps due to her expertise, my arm isn’t even sore. I’m looking forward to being out in the world again.
The first shot made me feel a little meh by late afternoon. So I went to bed a bit earlier than usual and felt fine in the morning. I hope you have a similar experience.
I was lucky and didn’t get hit with “mehs”. They say the second shot is the one people usually react to with fatigue, chills, etc. Hoping not but still worth the day or so of feeling crummy. I still think about your Dad and a former coworker who succumbed to Covid also. So much sadness in that dark time but I feel like better days are on our horizon.
I hope so.
Wait, we’re in a recession again? I feel like I should have noticed that.
Alas, I’m still not eligible and even if I were, the supply in CA is still terrible to the point that people are having to travel quite long distances to get an appointment. I really hope that improves soon!
Well, dang. I hope you can get an appointment quickly.
I got the second vaccine today, my birthday! Hoping for no nasty after effects. I might try a little veggie garden this year. I always plant flowers, as they make me remember my mother who loved flower gardens.
My dad turns 94 in April and got his second shot last week. One more week till “full” immunity and then we’re off to the barbers. The old Marine has been going crazy, constantly telling me, he feels like a hippy with such long hair! Things seem to moving faster here in NJ. My siblings are almost done, tho I’m still waiting to get an apptmt, knock on wood, any day now. Be well everyone!
Got both shots, I feel more confident going shopping now, although I still wear a mask. Most of my family is vaccinated so happy about that. And my two close friends are vaccinated so I’m hoping we can get together soon. Planning trips ( safely) for this year.