Excited. *Very* Excited!

Early last fall, I applied for a high tunnel grant.  It really didn't sound likely that we would get one for 2012...especially since there was only one awarded in Muscatine county for 2011!  Well, I kept hoping...and bugging the guy in charge about once a month.  About three weeks ago, I received a phone call saying that we ranked high enough for grants for a windbreak & high tunnel!...we would definitely get funding for the windbreak ($1,010), but would have to wait to find out about the high tunnel.  The good news came a couple days later...we are getting high tunnel funding, too (somewhere close to the tune of $8,000!!)!!  I have been over the moon excited since getting the news!  With me quitting my full-time job at John Deere (7 days left!) in order to grow Seeded Earth & stay home with our little baby that is on the way, the budget will be tight.  It probably would have taken us at least 2 years...maybe 3, until we could afford to put up a high tunnel of this size ourselves.  This will be so great for Seeded Earth!  We'll be able to add a couple of months to our flower production & be able to grow some things that just don't do well for us outdoors.  It's going to be so, so wonderful! 

What else?!  Spring is here!...or maybe it's summer already.  Whatever it is, it's beautiful!  It does have me a teeny bit worried, though.  If it's this warm already, what will we get for summer & fall??  I'm hoping that we cool down a bit, don't get a hard freeze that damages everything that is already leafing out & blooming, get a bit of spring rain and then ease into a nice, mild summer with an even amount of moisture.  I'll keep my fingers crossed that the weather doesn't get too wacky!

It Begins!

We began starting seeds under lights in our basement a couple weeks ago to get ready for an end of March wedding & the beginning of planting season!  Final seed orders should be rolling in soon & we'll be seeding in full force!  It gets busy & crazy, but I couldn't imagine it any other way!  Looking back through last year's photos, we're only about a month away from these...

...the official sure sign that spring is here & that loads of beautiful blooms aren't far behind!  

I'm so excited for this season!  We have many super fun, beautiful weddings booked and we'll be jumping into action at The Freight House Farmers' Market as soon as we have enough blooming -- hopefully the first part of April!  You'll also be able to find us at The Trinity Farmers' Market on Mondays from 3 p.m. til 6 p.m. and at The Iowa City Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings whenever they have openings.  We'll still be at The Freight House Farmers' Market in Davenport, Iowa every Saturday from 8 a.m. til 1 p.m., too!!  

Also, on Saturday, March 17th, I'll be participating in The Art of Gardening event put on by the Muscatine Master Gardeners!  I'll be doing a presentation on growing your own cut flowers and another make & take demonstration on creating terrariums!  We will also have a booth there with terrariums available for sale and hopefully a few flower arrangements!  It should be a great time!  

We just sent in our application for The Handmade City Spring Art Fair that will be on Saturday, April 28th at Bucktown Center for the Arts in downtown Davenport, Iowa!  It's a very popular & fun event -- we're hoping to make it into the vendor lineup!  We'll keep you posted!  

Now that many winter projects are behind us, we're back in flower action & can't wait to see everyone, again, this season!!