On Sunday I turned my dining room table into a planting bench by spreading out an old sheet. I transplanted 12 early tomato plants. And I planted 6 6-packs of seeds (carrots, parsnips and 6 types of chili peppers).
The chilis are under my fish tank now, since they like it warm for germination. Its 80*F under there. I just have to remember to water them now and then. (varieties: Amelia's cayenne, Thai hot, yellow sweet, Joe Parker, Nardello and Ancho)
I've always direct planted carrots and parsnips before, but last fall I tried sowing carrots in pots and transplanting. It worked great. So I'm trying a spring planting. I prefer planting in pots because its easier for me to water the young seedlings regularly if they are inside on my shelves. Carrots are sensitive to drying out when they're small and I've lost many because of this.
My husband reminds to me write that he washed the pots! I found a stack of old pots in the garage to my surprise and, knowing how I like CLEAN pots for little seedlings, he put them in the dishwasher. He filled the top shelf and put a cookie rack on top to hold the pots in place. They look nice and the plants look happy.
Did you direct sow lettuce or peas yet in the garden Kathy? I tilled the garden a 2nd pass tonite after adding 900 lbs of sand, it really loosened it up (carrots needed it). I may sow lettuce and peas out there tomorrow, if we get a cold snap, Ill just cover those little rows.
ReplyDeleteIs the dishwasher sufficient to clean? That sounds way easier than washing by hand in a diluted bleach solution...
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Kathy, I can't believe you're still planting my cayennes - how wonderful! I'm glad they live on in your garden. It's always hard to use as many cayennes as those productive little plants produce, but they sure are nice to look at. Have you ever had them cross-pollinate with your other peppers? I never did, but I only had them for a few years. I've had to take a two-year break from gardening (I'm at the Obama campaign in Chicago now). But I still have cayenne seeds from my batch a couple years ago, so hopefully some of them will be viable when I get back to gardening in 2013. It's nice to carry on a seed tradition - glad you've felt the same way!
ReplyDeleteYour tomato plants look great! Mine are still just developing their first set of true leaves. I suppose my grow light is just too weak.
ReplyDeletehttp://victoriaspatiogarden.blogspot.com/
I am a community gardener at the Virginia-Monadnock CG in Dorchester and I admire your blog. I start seeds like you do under lights in the house and then eventually move "my babies" outside. I created a xls spreadsheet to track all the start dates and targeted harvest dates since there is lots to keep track of! I wonder if the city is slightly warmer than Belmont since I planted peas and favas many weeks ago and things are sprouted. Enjoy the season!
ReplyDeleteStarting carrots inside is terribly clever. We have had terrible luck with starting carrots the last few years and this might be just the thing. How big do you let them get before you transplant them into the garden?
ReplyDeleteKathy, your tomato plants look great! I used the dining room table to plant toms, peppers and eggplants last weekend. Wrapped a heating pad in a couple of plastic bags, put it under the peppers, set it on low. The instant read thermometer on top of the soil reads 80-90, so this is a free garden heating mat.
ReplyDeleteI'll recycle your husband's idea of washing pots in the dishwasher - the bleach bath is messy & tedious. It's a win-win solution on all counts.
My dining room table look just as your did when I did some of my planting and transplanting! On Monday I moved to my back day since the weather was so nice! I opened up my umbrellas so my seedlings didn't get too much sun! Yours look great! Happy Gardening!
ReplyDeleteMindy
I am jealous that you made those plants growing. Me too looking forward for my seeds to pop out and grow as healthy as your plants. I have them in a flat plastic bins instead of pots. I actually host a weekly gardening link up every Friday on my blog. I'd love for you to drop by and join in.
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