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It’s true. Remember those little lettuces from last week? Well look at them now.
Look how they've grown!
All the rain we’ve been getting however dreary it is, really helps out our little plants. We’re going to have to thin them out so they have room to become nice big heads of lettuce, but it’s going to be so sad to pull them up!
Also the broccoli and cauliflower are doing wonderful. Little tiny broccolis are already starting to form.
Baby broccoli
We also have beans and peas coming up faster than expected. The trellis for them needs to go up later today if it’s not raining too hard.
These just popped right up!
In other news, the wood for the greenhouse base has been delivered, and we’ve managed to borrow a saw. So pending the purchase of galvanized deck screws we should have the greenhouse up within a week or so. Then the camilia sinensis will be started as well as some dwarf citrus, bergamot, and hibiscus.
The raspberry bushes on the property may bloom and fruit as well. I discovered these blossoms in the raspberry bush that is growing inside one of our flowering shrubs.
Very soon we will be planting the root vegetables and corn. The corn bed will have to be de-rocked as it needs a lot of open soil for its roots. The root vegetable bed is less rocky so it shouldn’t be too much of a chore to do. And also we will be repotting the tomato and pepper seedlings as they are not ready to go outside but outgrowing their little peat moss pellets. We will post pics!
The business timeline for Ellipsis is as follows. Soon we will be growing tea plants and blending loose teas. We also plan to package little cotton muslin reusable bags with each tin of tea. Perhaps we will sell vintage book and tea packages on Etsy and also we hope to sell tea with some of the shops in downtown Galena. First however we must learn to dry and make different types of tea for the best taste and health benefits. And of course we are continually working on our business plan and scouting out local resources.
Have a wonderful day! It looks as though the sun is coming out in Galena. I hope you see the sun today as well!
Everything is going wonderfully. The broccoli, cauliflower, and lettuces are all getting big, the squashes and melons have sprouted, as well as the beans and peas. And yesterday we planted most of our herb garden. Mints, borage, parsley, sage, thyme, cilantro, rosemary, and dill. Next we’ll do the root vegetables and corn. Then the peppers and tomatoes should be big enough to transplant. We also have calendula sprouting which adds lovely color to tea.The stevia is also doing great, but we’re not sure whether or not it should be planted in the ground. Same with the thai basil. It does get a little chilly here in Galena at night.
Also we’ve added a few books to our Alibris site! http://www.ellipsis.alibrisstore.com
At Ellipsis Books and More we love vintage books. Well mostly we love books. But we also love green living. Right now we sell used, vintage, and antiquarian books via http://ellipsis.alibrisstore.com/ (shameless plug).
This blog will chronicle Ellipsis as it grows. We plan to become a completely sustainable, zero waste business. All of our practices and decisions will lead to this goal.
Our little broccolis are doing wonderful!
Currently we are still in stage one: Online Store and Learning to Garden. Once our greenhouse goes up, we will start growing tea plants or Camelia Sinensis. This plant is where green, black, yellow, white, and oolong are derived from. We will also do herbal tea blends. Books and tea just go together.
The physical Ellipsis store will house used and vintage books and a tea bar that will also feature local, in-season fruit juices, smoothies, and snacks.
Our gardens are doing great. They are dug, tilled, and supplemented with biochar (an amazing natural supplement) The calendula, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuces, and spinach as well as our sunflowers and nasturtiums have all spouted and are looking good!
We just wish the weather would decide on a direction. We went from 90 degree days to 36 degree nights within a week. So we’re afraid to plant anything else! Here’s to the future!
Baby lettuces in the Mesclun Mix
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