The seedlings are coming along nicely.
Tomatoes: 3 varieties (Brandywine, Roma & Sugar Sweeties) are nearing 1.5″ and looking good. I bought a “Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter” which will hang from the porch and grow upside down. We’ll give that a try just for kicks. It was only $10 at Target.
Peppers: Pepperoncini and Jalapeno are just beginning to make an appearance. California Wonder and Yolo Wonder are barely beginning to show. Most were planted 2/20-22, others 2/27.
Artichokes: The first batch, planted 2/20, are up. Some I did what was suggested in my Burpee book, and refrigerated seeds in moist sand for two weeks before planting. I planted those today. It said that this process will promote early flowering. We’ll see.
Celery: One batch was planted 2/22 according to the Ferry-Morse package directions, at 1″ deep. I thought this was fishy, after reading a couple of other sources that said they should be planted at barely under the surface. So on 2/27 I planted some more according to these other instructions. The 2/27 batch has just begun to emerge, and there is no sign of germination from the 2/22 batch. Some sources say celery is hard to grow, so it will be interesting to see what happens.
Endive: Just for fun I started some Curly Endive, and these seeds were the first to appear. Only a few germinated, so I went ahead and planted some more in the empty plugs, and they have just begun to emerge.
Leeks & Scallions are on their way, and thyme, oregano, basil, & bee balm.
I just bought some broccoli, kale, yellow peppers (canary bells), and sweet pea perennials, which I will probably start tomorrow after I make some more newspaper pots.
I saw a nifty deal to make newspaper pots online for $20, but instead of purchasing it, I’ve been making pots out of vitimin bottles that work quite well. Now that I know they work, I’ll stop buying the peat pots and use only the newspaper one. Besides saving money, I’ll save the peat resources by not buying those pots. (A small dent, I know, but every little bit helps.)
