Sweet peas sown January 27, 2017

On January 28, 1986, I skipped classes at Waxahachie High to sow sweet peas in the field next to my house.

I was unaware that the Space Shuttle Challenger had exploded that morning until my friend called me and asked if I had heard the news. Immediately, I turned on the TV and found all the major networks covering the story.

Still, the events of that day are tied together in my memory, and each year that I sow sweet peas, I remember the date that I sowed Wando sweet peas and harvest the greatest yield I've ever picked.

This year as the date approached, I made sure to have seed on hand, and I sowed the peas on Friday, January 27, 2017, in the same field where I grew sweet peas in 1986.

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Greenhouse seeds started

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Microgreens sprouted, steamed

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Temps plunge

Colder winter weather has moved in after a weekend in the 60s and 70s. The high today was 28 degrees, and the lows are in the mid 20s. The greenhouse ran out of propane last night, and the temperature inside was about 54 when I discovered the heater was out at 3:34 A.M. Even with the Mr. Heater Big Buddy propane heater on its high setting, the temperature inside only reaches 60 when it's 28 outside. At night, the heater keeps the greenhouse in the 50s. A tray for sprouting peppers is near the heater so that it can stay in the 70s to aid germination. The rest of the plants and germinated seed should fare well in the 50s. Elsewhere, rain barrels have frozen over, and icey precipitation has accumulated on the ground.

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