We have corn!

My corn sprouted yesterday! That is pretty fast for corn. Thanks to a warm week and even warmer weekend, the temperatures in the greenhouse have soared and that's what corn likes. I also saw a couple of squash poking their leaves out, as well as a pole bean or two. Thursday's high is projected to be in the 80s, so I have high hopes for this week (though today is cold and wet).

-NGG

Everyone loves freebies; sprout update

I'm driving home from my run and subsequent stop at the hardware store for the obligatory potting soil when I see "FREE SEED STARTER KIT" alongside the road. I come to an urching stop, throw the Prius in reverse, and back up to the driveway to check it out. There before me was a metal frame garden grow kit from Garden Supply Company, value somewhere around $250. I grabbed simply the seed starters, five of them complete with rigid tall domes and heat/humidity vents. I got them home and cleaned them up; other than a little yellowing from sun damage, they were in great shape. I also looked up what they were originally in terms of purpose and value.

I am still debating about going back to get the light fixture, but I don't really have a place for it. Each little seedling kit, complete with capillary mat, support structure, and planting pots (along with the tray and tall dome) is a $39.95 value. Turns out the kit is designed to be maintenance friendly; that is, you only have to water it every two weeks or so. But my freebie was missing everything but the tray and dome, so my free kit turned out to be $60 to get enough of the missing parts to stock five starter kits. It was still a bargain, and something I won't have to buy again for years. For now, I have used some empty plant containers and planted an experimental carrot crop.

Meanwhile, my corn is up! So exciting! No beans have come up yet. I have run out of room in my greenhouse, so I have some trays in the sunroom. I am considering expanding my greenhouse by four feet. We have had stellar weather--it's been 70 plus degrees all week, which means over 100 degrees in the greenhouse. We have some rain coming in for a few days, but the sun comes back by Wednesday. Our usual temperature is about 15 degrees cooler.

I weeded some flower beds and transplanted some irises and peonies. The daffodils are just about done and the tulips and alums are coming on. The seven hyacinths are beautiful!

-NGG

Red Bull Onions Are Up!

Just a quick seed update. The onions have finally sprouted, and also one tiny impatiens. Still waiting on tomatoes, sweet peas, peppers, and beans. I had to order more flats to plant the rest of my beans; they arrive tomorrow.

NGG

Planting potatoes and onions

We had four sunny days in a row, with highs reaching near 60. I planted my potatoes and onions on the last sunny day. My friend, Nicole, said to lay the potatoes out in the sun after cutting them to harden them off a bit before planting them. I have never done that before! I put the onion starts just barely into the soil. I remember seeing the way they practically sat on top of the soil in Nicole's garden last year. Hers got significantly bigger than mine, and we split the very same bunch of onion starts.

Meanwhile, John moved more loads of composted chicken manure from their pen to my tomato bed. I mixed in lime and peat moss and cow manure. I hope the PH of the soil will be OK. Soil that is too acidic causes blossom end rot in tomatoes. I will test the soil PH in May before I plant the tomato starts and adjust as needed. The bed is still a little low, so I may ad a few bags of potting soil.

I didn't quite get to planting squash and beans in the greenhouse this weekend. I spent much of the day putting mulch on the garden beds in the patio and I finished pruning the plum tree. Next weekend is supposed to be sunny again, so I will probably plant the remaining seeds Tuesday so they can have the burst of warmth to hopefully sprout.

I saved some pansy seeds and one has come up. Other than that, nothing new in the greenhouse.

NGG

Sunshine = Sprouts

In the last few days, the weather has been sunny and a bit warmer. It made it to 60 today. It was 80 degrees in my greenhouse yesterday afternoon, and 60 degrees this evening. Not bad. New sprouts include Mongolian Giant Sunflowers, leeks, lots of peas, cilantro, and a few marigolds,

John moved composted chicken manure from the chicken yard to my tomato bed. Tomorrow, I will mix in some peat moss, sand, and lime and till the bed. Meanwhile, I will also plant potatoes and onions, which finally arrived from Territorial Seeds. They have been on back order since early February.

All for now.

NGG

Seed sprout update

I spent the day tilling the garden beds. Remarkably, I only encountered a little bit of rain. The little tiller did well, and I managed to work out just when I need to "give it some air," as I like to think of it, when it needed it. Once it gets hot, it tends to die, but I got the hang of when to back off and keep it from dying.

The beds look beautiful: rich black soil so fluffy you really do want to just lay down in it. I finally understood why my dog might want to do that. I got the soaker hoses laid out and connected, clamps and all.

Meanwhile, in my greenhouse, some new seeds have sprouted: leeks and peas. It seemed to be a fairly consistent 60 degrees in there today with some sunshine. It was enough to cause a few seedlings to pop through the soil.

Tomorrow, I will return two raspberry plants to Flower World that appear to be dead. I am hoping for some sun breaks again to warm things up inside the greenhouse.

Nitty Gritty Gardener

Pelleted Onion Seeds

I have never tried pelleted seeds before, but I decided to give it a go with red onion seeds. Last year, I bought Red Bull onion sets from Territorial Seeds, but this year, they were only available in seed form. I doubt I will have much success with getting onions to sprout soon enough and grow big enough to transplant them into the garden to become onion bulbs. I figure my chances were better if I didn't also have to thin the tiny seedlings, if and when they do come up. Small seeds, like onions and lettuce, are coated in clay that dissolves or pops open when they are watered. Because they are coated in clay, the are easier to see so you know you've only planted one seed in the hole. I'll let you know how it goes.

Meanwhile, nothing new has sprouted in the greenhouse. There are more seeds sprouting of the plants that were already up, though. The weather has still been cold and wet and will continue to be for another week. If the forecast holds, we'll have 60-65 degrees next Thursday through the weekend. That should get some seeds to sprout!

Come on sunshine!

NGG