It's Go Time

On Friday it was time to get my indoor seed starting underway. This is a couple weeks later than last year, but still 6 weeks before our frost-safe date, so what the hey. A few seeds were pre-soaked overnight...
...and I decided to try a row of sweet pea 'High Scent' with filed seeds to compare to the soaked ones.

I'd never filed the seed coat before, hopefully I did it right (at least I have the pre-soaked seeds in case this doesn't work out.)

Just like last year I'm using this heat mat under the trays to assist germination, but I don't have the same insulated metal mat to put under it. I improvised with aluminum foil, although it may not be necessary...just makes me feel better to cover the wooden boards with something to insulate and reflect the heat back.

And away we go! There's six 36-cell flats in all, with five on the mat and one for seeds that need "cooler germination" sitting nearby. One flat is all flowers, one all peppers, one all tomatoes, and three a combination of flowers, herbs and veggies.

My handy fan is ready to help strengthen the stems of emerging seedlings, as well as keeping the soil surface somewhat drier to prevent damping off. (I don't turn it on until there's germination.)

Here sets the "cooler germination" tray. I figured it can sit here about a week, then I'll move it under the lights but off the heat mat surface so it will be somewhat warmer but not too much.

How can they fail with this crowd cheering them on? :)

On a side note, check out my new orchid pot! I've priced these online at over $20, but found this one on sale locally for $4.45!! Self discipline and patience pay off after all!

Breaking wintersowing news: a tomato has germinated!! This is cherry tomato 'Stupice' from Czechoslovakia, listed at 52 days. All I can say is wow!

Some other wintersown seedlings needed to be thinned....

....like cabbage 'Caraflex'. That's better. It always bugs me not to "save' the culled sprouts, but it's just part of the process.

I have no qualms about "sacrificing" flowers though... ...to enjoy in the house of course! Got my spring on now for sure! :)

Miscellaneous Veggies 2009

Okay, one more 2009 garden review and then back to real-time blogging. This is a tall vining tomato, 'Tomatoberry'......the fruit is a nice, large-ish cherry. Rather firm and hollow though, so I'd use it as a stuffer for Hors d'œuvres. Good taste despite last season's very un-tomato like weather.


This small, manageable vine is spaghetti squash 'Small Wonder'.....

.....the fruits are single serving size and quite delicious!Speaking of fruit, my raspberries did well last year (even though I had to share a couple :)Despite having the appearance of a green bean, this is actually a "soup bean"... ....'Papa De Rola', an heirloom from Portugal. I only got a couple pods, but they were pretty!

This was my most successful tomato, 'Matt's Wild Cherry'. I grew it in three hanging baskets......and boy did the plants deliver! The fruits were held upside down on the plant which looked kinda funny, but the taste was amazing. True to the name, the "wild" seeds came from "...Hidalgo in Eastern Mexico. It's the region of domestication of tomatoes, and where these grow wild" per the catalog. They sure grew and fruited like some sort of weed, which really eased my cold season pain when the other tomatoes all pouted.

My leek experiment was nothing short of hilarious. I tried the seeds in a very tall enamel planter, believing that if it were deep enough they would grow alright. Well I'm here to tell you that leeks are not carrots, but they sure need to be thinned well and planted properly (a.k.a. in the ground). But if you want to wait all summer for chive-sized results...then this is how it's done :)

This unusual-looking flower belongs to a fava bean, 'Broad Windsor'... ...my weird season yielded one lonesome pod (of course deer chomping the plants halfway through the growing period didn't help either). I'm pretty sure I let the pod get too full...

....and the contents look buggy as well. No worries, there's no waste around here since either the worm bin or composter get to "enjoy" the duds.

Now on to the current season. Ready....set...GROW! ;-)

That's More Like It

The snow melted and spring has returned to normal... ....as if that was a regular rain shower....

....the flowers almost seem to have enjoyed it!

Beautifully blooming their hearts out...

...right through the grass and lawn debris.

Some spring bushes have begun to bloom as well, this is white forsythia Abeliophyllum distichum...

...hooray spring!!

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Yesterday spring was coming along just fine.... ....unusually warmly for this northern location...

....with flowers blooming like a dream....

...and then I woke up! This morning I had over 3 inches of snow and no power...

....froggy here doesn't seem to mind, but the bulbs nearby might have something to say about it (if they could talk :)

It was quite the reality check for my emerging plants....

....and the damage has yet to be measured....

...since the brisk wind kept bringing more snow all day.

My wintersown plants will hopefully live up to their method and prevail regardless...

...only time will tell. Tomorrow the forecast is back to spring with temps into the 50's, so another day will make such a difference that this will seem like a strange dream. Or hallucination. In fact, if I click my heels together....perhaps I can exit this snowy "Oz" and get back to my warm spring....

SeedGROW Project: First Official Post

I'm afraid that my first scheduled post for the GROW project is rather un-newsworthy... ...my wintersown seeds are still sleeping. But I will be starting seeds indoors under lights soon, and the outdoor temps are forecast to remain unseasonably warm also. Therefore I anticipate some germination action soon!

"I'm growing Nasturtium "Spitfire" for the GROW project, thanks to Renee's Garden for the seeds."