March 23, 2008

my seedlings on Easter morning

They are all growing very fast. The peppers came up today. The kale and escarole have their second set of leaves starting. The onions are straightening up. I move the trays around during the day to catch the best sunlight. Also, I am working on thinning out the more dense seedlings. After seeing Gretta’s nice individual plants that aren’t stretching out like mine, I am trying to do better at this though its hard to trow away cute little plants. I have almost 3 trays planted now – with 17…

March 19, 2008

seedlings in the window

Just a light dusting of snow.

March 19, 2008

pea planting

Well, I got my peas in on the day after St Pat’s Day. Not too bad. The soil in this area of my garden is really warm. Its right up against the south face of the house and gets full sun all day long, all winter. I’ll have to take my soil thermometer out there soon, just out of curiosity. My raised beds, which are further from the house and shaded by a neighboring house 24/7 during the winter, are still mostly frozen. Last year I had to wait ’til…

March 17, 2008

Happy St Patrick’s day

my kale seedlings BrassicaceaeKale (Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group)

March 16, 2008

sowing broccoli

Broccoli is my son’s favorite vegetable, so I keep trying to grow it. Last year I bought plants and was able to get a meal or two of crowns. I tried planting seeds in the fall, but planted too late. Growing Information:CULTURE: Broccoli requires a fertile soil with good moisture-holding capacity or irrigation. It is relatively tolerant to environmental stress. Broccoli does not generally do well in hot weather and does best as a spring or fall crop. For spring, start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost. Sow…

March 16, 2008

sowing pepper seeds

At the last minute, I found a few more varieties of pepper seeds, bought some trays and quickly planted my pepper seeds on schedule – March 15. Same date as last year. My garden is now 7-8 weeks before the last frost. Our usual last frost date here is May 5-10. I planted these five varieties of peppers. Sweet Canary Bell: (hybrid) Easy to grow, exceptional flavor, thick-walled and bright yellow color. It sets fruit early and produces throughout the summer. A vibrant accent in salads and deliciously sweet when…

March 12, 2008

first vegetable sprouts of the season

“What can happen to a seed is a kind of miracle.”

March 11, 2008

my first vegetable sprouts!!!

The kale and escarole in my indoor trays have sprouted already. Yipppeee. Its only been 4 days since sowing. (Photos later.) BrassicaceaeKale (Brassica oleracea, Acephala Group)

March 7, 2008

seed trays!

Ahhh. Such a beautiful day. The sun is so bright. I got a tray of seeds planted and I hope they are comfortable and warm down there. I planted yellow sweet spanish onions (4 trays), red russian, winterbor and tuscan kale (1 tray each), and blonde escarole (1 tray). Check out my nice dark table cover. Someone suggested this would keep the trays warmer than the white I originally used. I think it looks nicer. And anything for happier seedlings.

March 4, 2008

seed tables are ready

I think I’m going to start my indoor sowing a bit earlier than I planned.

weeks and counting until my last spring frost

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