tomatillo seedlings and tomato seedlings
squash, bean, and herb seedlings
We had a very productive weekend. The evening temperatures have finally warmed up enough for us to feel comfortable leaving our containers of seedlings outside overnight, so we moved everything out of the spare room (which was beginning to look and smell like a mini-greenhouse) and onto the deck.
Our row of seedlings are looking great! In fact, more seeds germinated than I anticipated, and we had to go to the hardware store and buy about 15 extra containers to place them all. I was very pleased to see that all 10 seed pods of the Black Krim heirloom tomatoes germinated. The packet says they have a natural salty taste. I often salt my tomatoes anyway, so I'm extremely curious to taste these and see what they look like, as I've never grown them before.
The yellow squash and zucchini seedlings are growing very nicely. We transplanted them from the little seed starting pods into containers. Above are just two of the squash pots. Squash freeze so easily and we still have some of last year's harvest in the freezer. I hope we grow enough this year to have a well-stocked squash freezer. I also planted the Purple Beauty pepper seeds that I ordered from Baker Creek
awhile ago.
Other seedling progress:
9 out of 10 loofah seedlings emerged
6 out of 10 teddy bear sunflowers emerged
All 16 summer/zucchini squash seedlings emerged
9 out of 10 beit alpha cucumber seedlings emerged
5 out of 10 jupiter bell peppers emerged
8 out of 10 sweet chocolate peppers emerged
I expect that the rest of the week will involve transplanting more seedlings to pots and thinning them out as well. I'm growing many new things this year (tomatillos, new varieties of peppers and tomatoes) and I can't wait to see how they turn out. I don't want to jinx myself, but I'm so excited for this year's crops!
Good start! I respect people who grow vegetables from seeds. I usually buy seedlings (lazy!). I'll be curious to see how your Black Krim does. I love this tomato! I never thought about it being salty, but it surely tasty! Some people complain that they don't know when it is ripen, because of its dark color. I usually touch it (if it's soft, it might be a bit late). Good luck to your garden!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip Tatyana! And there's nothing wrong with buying seedlings. I don't grow everything from seed; we do buy some plants from the nursery but it's not easy to find these cool heirlooms in plant form.
ReplyDeletecheck out that army of containers! i think if you add any more you might as well just line the bottom of your deck and fill the whole thing up with soil, haha. everything looks great. i can't wait to see your teddy bear sunflowers, those are so cute. glad you're getting some nice warm weather.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you have a little nursery going there. I do not raise veggies from seed except for beans and peas. It is hard nursing along the cucumber indoors right now. Our weather is nothing but cool and rain.
ReplyDelete@Emily--I've never grown teddy bear sunflowers. They do look cute in pictures. I want a whole army of sunflowers.
ReplyDelete@Donna--I hope you get warm weather soon so you can move the cucumbers out. It's hard when they start developing those long spindly feelers.
Wow, you have quite a bit of seedlings there. I haven't grown anything from seed yet, I may try next year. You've inspired me with your photos to give it a try. I've saved the containers from the plants I purchased from the nursery. I would love to have a little green house built, that's wishful thinking.
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