From April 1 to April 7 I hardened off some lettuce plants, some kale, cabbage, spinach and chives. I decided to plant them in the ground on Monday (picture 1), because I knew last night was going to be cold (28 degrees) and I wanted to give the plants a chance to adjust. It was definitely cold last night! This morning I discovered that the water in the watering can was still frozen! I checked on the plants this morning and all was well. The plants were protected nicely in the cold frame(picture 2). Lettuce can tolerate temperatures as low as 28 to 32 degrees, but the leaves will burn. Kale can withstand colder temps.
I started these plants indoors on March 5, but I am going to try sowing some seeds directly in the cold frame next week (April 15) - 6 weeks before the last expected frost.
I have about 150 tiny plants growing in my basement as of today, with more to come! Last Monday (March 24) I transplanted two dozen or so seedlings into cups. Their roots had grown through the bottoms of the plugs, which told me they are able to easily draw nutrients from potting soil. Also, the plants had developed their first "true" leaves, so it was time. Tonight I plan to transplant another 20+ seedlings.
I picked up two different potting soils to try: Fox Farm Ocean Forest (which I am currently using) and Miracle-Gro Potting Mix. I learned last year (the hard way) that the quality of potting soil absolutely makes a difference in how well your seedlings grow.
I also picked up some Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Potting Mix, because I would like to grow certain flowers in trays rather than grow them individually in plugs. Sweet alyssum is one example. In the meantime, I continue to sow more seeds: milkweed, cosmos, cleome, eggplant, and basil. I'll start my tomatoes next week!
Spring is here, but it still looks a little dreary outside. I have been battling a terrible cold and cough, otherwise I'd be outside pruning my blueberry bushes and fruit trees. I need to get my soil tested, too. I took a little walk around the yard the other day and everything is so soggy! I was delighted to see some daffodil leaves poking through the ground, and also happy to see that all that thyme I grew from seed made it through the winter. The rosemary didn't make it, though. This is the second year in a row that I forgot to bring it indoors.
I started my seeds on March 5: bell peppers, cabbage, chives, thyme, head lettuce (Romaine and Bibb), Rudbeckia, verbena, and ageratum. It only took 2 days for the little, tiny plants to appear - all except the verbena, chives and peppers.
Unfortunately, I left most of my purchased "greenhouses" in my shed, and I don't feel like trudging through the snow to get to them. All of the plastic lettuce containers that I have been collecting have been coming in as handy replacements! I fill them up with the water-saturated peat moss plugs, sow the seeds and label the containers with a sharpie. Done. I put them on the heating mats and under the lights. After the seedlings appear, I simply cut off the lids.
I learned to put the pepper seeds in the little peat moss plugs to avoid "damping off". However, the plugs where I sowed chive seeds seems to have grown webby. I'm not sure what that's all about.
Also, the verbena seeds need a little extra attention. They require the heat mat during the day for warm temperatures and at night I have to move them so they can have cooler temps (60 degrees fahrenheit). They could take as many as 28 days to germinate. I don't mind:
Early March
Seed Date Germinated Transplanted
Cabbage March 5 March 7 March 18, 24
Head lettuce March 5 March 7 March 18, 24
Peppers March 5 yes
Ageratum March 5 March 7 March 18, 24
Rudbeckia March 5 March 7 March 24
Verbena March 5 March 8
Chives March 5 yes March 18
Thyme March 5 March 7
Mid-March
Seed Date Germinated
Purple Coneflower March 14 March 18
Lavender March 14 March 26
Spinach March 14 March 18
Arugula March 14 March 16
Kale March 14 March 16 March 24
Striped Marigold March 14 March 17
Milkweed March 19 March 24
Cosmos March 19 March 21
Cleome March 19
Eggplant March 19 March 24
Basil March 19 March 21
End of March
Seed Date Germinated
5-Star Grape Tomato March 31
Bellstar Tomato March 31
Brandywine Tomato March 31
Some Helpful Online Seed Starting Charts
Johnny's Select Seeds
A Way to Garden.com
The Old Farmer's Almanac
