I had forgotten to look in the bin that has customer-donated heirloom seeds! Oops! Well, I did and found four interesting, new-to-us peppers, two sweet and two hot. Of course I must plant them too. We were in Hibbing (town) today and stopped in both Walmart and our local farm store. They had shelves and shelves full of peat pellets. But they were included in “kits,” with a flat, clear dome and the pellets. Well, I have plenty of flats, don’t need a dome (when they’re snapped down, the seeds often rot because of excessive moisture.) and only wanted pellets. No dice. I checked the store in Virginia (town) online and it says they have just the pellets. Guess where I’m going tomorrow?? Gee, they’ve figured out how to force you into buying the whole “kit” … even if you just want Jiffy peat pellets, haven’t they? Well, not this gal!

I think every single baby pepper plant is up or coming up now. What wonderful germination! It makes me feel so happy to see those little green plants! We know it won’t be too long before the snow goes, and we can get in the gardens again.

I haven’t ordered many plants or trees this year, putting all extra cash toward paying down a couple of debts that make me have sleepless nights. There’s the repair on the big red truck and Will’s big orange Kubota tractor. One was a need, and the other a “want.” Oh well, commitment is a commitment, so we need to get them both paid off just as soon as possible. We never pay just the monthly payment! No matter what, more is put on the principle to get it down faster with paying less interest in the long run. Debt sucks! Especially in today’s rocky world.

— Jackie