Sara’s Sanity Shack for 2020

May 5
The Plants are ready!
* Sale starts this Friday, May 8 in time for Mother’s Day!
* Some varieties go fast so order ahead and I’ll have plants reserved for you.
* Even if you have been here before, please read the Self-Service Guide, last page, Covid-19 safety protocols and visit guidelines.
* Oder Form, Plant Descriptions and Self-Service Guide are linked in below.

April 27
The greenhouse plants are progressing beautifully (new photos added to top row)…at least most are. For the first time, I have a resident mouse eating the peppers and marigolds and an occasional tomato. I researched Havahart mouse traps and searched the local stores for Model 1020 without luck so ordered one on line but due to prioritizing PPE for Covid-19, the mouse trap won’t arrive until May 1. In the meantime, I am sprinkling peppermint oil onto cotton swabs and disbursing them around the greenhouse to deter the mouse – It’s a trick Jerry discovered to stop mice from chewing on the wires under the hood of his car.
Now for what’s going well and news of the plant sale:
* Lettuces, basil, sage, broccoli, and brussels sprouts are ready NOW if you’d like to shop or look around.
* Tomatoes, all 22 varieties, look strong and are slowing gaining heighth/height and breadth and will be ready to plant in mid-May. If you like, you can shop early and raise them at your home but they are happy growing under the grow lights in Sara’s Sanity Shack.
*Peppers are the sad story. As you read before, the first round of seedlings were eaten by…it turns out…Mr. Mouse. The replanted peppers are barely above ground and not ready for division, much less sale. My guess is that peppers will be ready for the ground in June sometime.
* Strawberry, Crocosmia and Oregano starts are ready now and FREE. Take all you want! They are all transplants from our gardens.
* Squash and Pumpkins seeds are also FREE for the taking.

Order Form and Plant Descriptions and Self-Service Guide
If you would like to shop now, please let me know and I’ll make arrangements for your visit to the greenhouse.
If you prefer to wait until the tomatoes are fully grown and ready for planting, the estimated Opening Date for Sales is the weekend of May 16-17.
Covid-19 guidelines for shopping in the greenhouse are in the Self-Service Guide, last page.

And Lastly, I’ll send out one additional update on or around Mother’s Day with last minute Plant Sale instructions! In the meantime, the Self-Service Guide is linked above and in it you will find photos of the greenhouse and general sale instructions.

April 16
Here’s a quick progress report, with 6-7 new photos added to the gallery below. I have divided most of the baby tomato plants, lettuces, kale, and broccoli – other herbs and veggies will be divided within the next week. As always, I’ll have about 15 varieties of tomatoes and they are my primary “product”. Oh, and I’ve dug up Crocosmia and Strawberries and Oregano and they will all be FREE for the taking. And marigold starts and a few other annual flowers will also be also free for the taking.
One HUGE setback and mystery – Something/Someone has eaten all my baby peppers which is so frustrating since peppers are one of the hardest to get going in our cool Gorge weather. I replanted and we’ll see what happens but I know that most of you will want peppers in the ground likely earlier than mine will be ready, assuming they don’t get eaten once again.
Count on plant sales and offerings around mid-May.
Finally, I am hoping that this year I’ll get more orders ahead of time so that I can package and label them and have them ready for you. Of course, some of us love to wander amongst the plants and pick our own and that will also we possible and fine — distancing instructions will follow.
I’ll be in touch with another Sanity Shack Installment at the end of April/beginning of May and will have the order form, directions and other instructions ready to go by then.
In the meantime, take care and cultivate joy and happiness and health in the soil and in your souls. Love, Sara

April 8
Hi All. Beautiful weather this week. Mostly sunny. High today of 70 and more to come. With the virus still at hand, we’ve started taking almost daily walks, whether to the post office or strolling with Jennifer & Gus or with Gaelic. Debbie sent me a link to Bird Cams that have captivated Samson and Junior. AND our ground mounted solar array has finally gotten underway.
As for the little baby plants, they are still tiny but showing their first true leaves so I know that in a week or so I’ll be dividing them.
Most recent photos of all of this shown below.
And speaking of Coronavirus/COVID19, I have been contemplating greenhouse plant sales in this era and will say more when the time comes but believe that with lots of room to spread out plants outside the greenhouse; with pre-sale orders that I can fulfill and “isolate”; and with next-to-no crowds shopping at Sara’s Sanity Shack anyway, we should all be safe (of course following all the social distancing protocols). As I said, more to come and photos to give you an idea of what I am thinking shown below.
Aren’t we fortunate souls to be able to get outside.

March 17
It’s a Tuesday and for the most part I have been sitting in this seat in front of the computer navigating meeting cancellations and changes in plans due to the Coronavirus. It’s sunny outside and the wind has died down and I did just visit the greenhouse to water my new starts planted over the last 2 days.
Sara’s Sanity Shack has new lighting and shelves thanks to Jordis and Michael Yost who did installation on March 3-5, and to a fun and informative online seed starting program https://joegardener.com.
It snowed on Saturday 3/14 and that constitutes the only Winter we’ve had in Corbett. It was BEAUTIFUL! And it was so amazing to be out of the wind and snow, warm and cozy inside the sunny greenhouse.
Jerry and I were to be traveling to TX and FL in late March but cancelled due to the virus. If there’s any good news to that, it’s that I am able to spend more time in the greenhouse.
Lastly for now and FYI, I am migrating to all organic seeds, and as of planting this year, am about 80% there.
Here are a few pictures of the Yost’s magic and the Sanity Shack plantings.

2019 Sanity Shack!

May 9, 2019
PLANT SALE OPENS SUNDAY, MAY 12th!!! HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
Here’s a Plant Sale Guide. — LOOK, PICK, PAY, PACK! Most of your questions will be answered in this guide and using the other documents that I have inserted in previous installments…If you have any further questions, call or email anytime!
And in the gallery below you can see what plants looked like today.

May 5, 2019
More photos from today are below. I tilled my garden plot today! And wow are things growing! Most, but not all of the selections are almost ready to go into the ground, AND I think plants will be ready for sale next Sunday, on Mother’s Day so get your orders in beforehand and I’ll have them ready for you, or just stop by and make the selection yourself. I’ll be sending out the shopping guide next week to help you navigate the greenhouse and PICK, PACK AND PAY instructions.

April 28, 2019
Things are growing along nicely in the greenhouse. I have included 6-7 photos from today to give you an idea of how big/small the plants are – they are shown at the top of the gallery. Check out Cherise and Dan on their way to Hawaii!
Opening Day of Plant Sales will likely be the week after Mother’s Day, so mid-May. If you send me your order form before then, I’ll have it packed for you. If you want a delivery, please let me know and I’ll make it happen!
Someone asked about onions and leeks — each container has 4-6 starts so you will be dividing them when you place them in the ground. My leeks from last year, planted in June, were ready in August and also over-Wintered and we are eating them still.

April 18, 2019
Hi All. Germination is complete and I have started dividing those little babies! Here’s an Order Form in Excel that you can download and fill out and email it back to me as well as a PDF, that you can simply open and view and fill out manually…and a viewable PDF of Tomato and Pepper Description.
And thank you Rick for this Propagating Plants from Seeds publication from Northwest Extension Service.

March 31 – Thank God for Sun and No Wind!
It’s the last day of March and as of yesterday, all seeds are sown (that is, in the greenhouse)! The big experiment this year involves the use of peat pellets donated by my sis-in-law, Brenda. Thanks Brenda (I think). 2 cases of peat pellets that I know nothing about so research on You Tube and ads on Amazon and then it always comes down to just trying it out and seeing what occurs. The jury is still out on their utility. You can see them in the pics below. IF all goes well, transplanting the starts should be a lot easier. One note for the record. The size pellets that I inherited are too small for tomatoes and peppers so they were planted the old fashioned way – potting soil and perlite.

As for timing, starting to plant in March (first on 3/1 and last on 3/30) seems so damn late. Every year around then I think that I am behind. Thank God for Farmer’s Almanac and my planting records since 2010, because according to last frost dates, starting most seeds inside around here is a mid-March to mid-April affair, and most years, whether I start in late February or March, the Plant Sale happens around Mother’s Day regardless.

Okay, enough about me. I’ll be creating the list of plants and order form and attaching it herein as I confirm which varieties are successfully germinating and vigorous. In the meantime, enjoy the sun and receding wind.

Sara’s Sanity Shack for 2018!

I am being dragged or rather “escorted” from iWeb to Word Press. Yvonne says that I am the last person on the planet to do this…I hate planned obsolescence!  But okay, here we are in a new application program talking about the joy of having my hands in the dirt!

May 24 — Things are winding down in the greenhouse – at least for sales. I have about 30 tomato plants left as well as celery and parsley – I’ve added a photo of the current selection to the gallery. The sale will end as of May 30th. All plants are now $1.00 regardless of quantity. Thanks to everyone who shopped at Sara’s Sanity Shack!

May 12 – The Sanity Shack Plant Sale will be open for business on Thursday, May 17th!  I’ve added a couple of pictures to the photo gallery from today’s set up. A Self-Service Shopping Guide is linked below. 

May 7 – Hi all. In the past week, the tomatoes and cauliflower, cabbage, leeks and basils have really taking off! I’ve added a few pictures to the greenhouse gallery. I’ll confirm the exact date via email but I believe I’ll be open for sale Friday, May 18th. If you want particular varieties, please send me your order early and I’ll set it aside for you to pick up. The order form is linked below.

April 27 – In the mid-80s and bright sunshine yesterday and today in the 50s and misty. I’ve divided everything except celery! This year I decided to quit stressing about individual pots for each little plant and instead I am planting all my excess seedlings onto “group pots” for donation to neighborhood gardens and non-profits when the time comes. You’ll see a photo of my  group pots in the gallery below, along with the latest in Spring blooms and the size/status of my baby plants. I did my first garden tilling yesterday!
I have also made three changes to this page based on feedback: 1) the blog that I never used is removed and a Comments link is below for your use and enjoyment!; 2) I am now dating the photos so hover over a photo to find the date. If you click on a photo it gets bigger and shifts into slide show mode;  and 3) I’ve switched the most recent entries from the bottom to the top and bolded the entry dates.
The 2018 Order Form is ready and linked at the bottom of this page.
That’s it for now! I think I’ll take a nap…

April 21 – The tulip, flowering cherry and fruit trees are popping with blossoms. It’s Springtime in Corbett. Today I divided most of the tomatoes and started feeding the seedlings with fish meal emulsion. They’re still tiny and the peppers aren’t even ready to divide, BUT days are getting longer and warmer and when I read my past year’s greenhouse journals, I am reminded that it’s generally just like this each year. I took a few pictures today and am adding them to the top of the gallery. I’ll create the order form next week and send you a note when it’s posted.

April 13 – This is the time of year I worry about whether the plants will ever grow and be ready for sale by May-June. It’s raining and chilly and has been and will be all next week. That said, I started dividing the starts today: Kale, Cauliflower, Cilantro, Cabbage and Leeks. I’ll be dividing tomatoes soon and will add to the photo gallery when I do.

March 28 – Everything will reveal itself in the next few weeks or so as to order forms and progress. Here are a few photos taken in March — little baby boy seedlings planted in February and germinating in the February – March timeframe on heat mats, waiting for those “true leaves” and thus signaling transplanting/dividing. 33 varieties of tomatoes. 6 of peppers and all sorts of other veggies including cabbage, kale, celery, basils, leeks, etc. And I’m so happy to be starting basil for Pam’s bees!!!

Here’s a PDF of the Order Form for 2018!

And here’s your Self-Service Shopping Guide: Look, Pick, Pay, Pack

Want to view others of my years in the Sanity Shack? Click here for the archives!

Please Share Your Thoughts and Ask Your Questions Below!