Cool Weather Seeds are Now in The Garden

I have four seeds that were ready for the garden not including my potato or lettuce plants that will be placed in the ground real soon.   I do have a few seed potatoes in the ground, but I didn’t get to put all of them in the garden for now.  I will probably take tomorrow to just add the rest of the potatoes that I have in the ground.  The holes are ready for them and all I need to do is add some manure and bone meal and place them.

I had some spinach seeds that I used to only plant a partial row.  I will have to get some more in order to fill the excess space that was left due to lack of seeds.  Next to my spinach row are my celery seeds that I placed into the ground rather than planting them indoors first.

In the second row I have snow peas and radishes.  It is a good thing to put peas and radishes together because they make good inter-planting plants.  I can easily put radishes in between the pea plants in order to save room just in case I need to save space.

Tilling a New Spot for Strawberry Plants

I decided that yesterday was warm enough to get some tilling done for the upcoming spring months and harvest.  I am looking to plant some seeds of spinach, radishes, celery, peas, and potatoes.  I also have been growing lettuce plants indoors this season to transplant them in the garden when the weather is a little bit warmer.  Right now the temperature is still below freezing which these plants don't tolerate well.

This is where I plan on putting my spring plants and seeds for this year.  This should be enough room to plant all of them.









I also found a perfect spot for my strawberry plants this year.  My onions that were grown in the garden the past couple of years is where I am going to put my new strawberry plants.  It is a big enough area where I will have enough room to put my strawberries and even more if I wanted to add more plants to this section.

I hope to put my strawberry plants in the garden very soon since they have been sitting in a bucket of water for a couple of weeks.  I have been putting them outside in order to harden them off, but I want to see some consistent warm weather before planting them.

How About Starting Tomatoes Indoors?

That is exactly what I like to do every season and is the best thing to do with these plants.  Starting them inside is probably the easiest way to get a head start on the season and since they transplant well it makes sense to start them in your home or apartment.

I always like putting them under artificial lights because getting them sprouting as soon as possible will allow you to plant more seeds once your tomato plants reach a good size.  After tomatoes I like to plant zucchini and pumpkins under these lights.  They sprout quick and will not be under these lights for very long.

Three types this year are what I am focusing on.  Granted I am planting the same as every year I figured I would let you know the three that I chose.  The steakhouse and super sauce are the same, but I did pick a different cherry tomato type that I thought I would try instead of the usual.

 

Melon, Pepper, Eggplant, and Cucumber Seed Planting

It is not time to start planting them outside, but it is time to give them the head start they need by starting them indoors.  I am using peat pots this time because it will just make things easier later on in the season when it is time to transplant all of them.  If they don't take I can always grow them directly in the soil.

I will place a fluorescent light on top of them once I fill the containers they are sitting in with water.  This is how I like to water my plants especially seeds because there is no need to use a spray bottle because the soil will soak up the water from the bottom up.













My plants are looking good especially my strawberry plants.  They have been soaking in water for about a week or so and I will be placing them in there own peat pots.  It is too early for them to go outside and I don't want them to just sit in a container of water for a month.  I will most likely put them into peat pots either this week or by the end of the weekend.

Alyssum, dill, and wildflowers have been sprouting and are just about done with the germination process except for dill which has just begun this process.  It was planted later so naturally it will be a little bit behind my alyssum and wildflower seeds.

Sprouts, Digging, and Soaking

Kind of an odd title, but that is what I have been doing this afternoon.  I am seeing sprouts coming from my alyssum and wildflowers only.  I am hoping that I will begin to see dill sprouting any day now.  I did plant them later than my alyssum and wildflower seeds, so I do still have some time before they sprout.

It was also time for digging now that I have my potatoes and need to get them into the soil as soon as possible.  I am looking to put them in the ground tomorrow all dependent on the weather conditions and temperature.  Although my potatoes may be safe in the ground covered by soil I still would like to plant them on a good sunny day.

Along with digging I did some soaking with my strawberry plants.  It is important to soak your plants in water before putting them outside in the ground.  They need to soak in water in order to get out of their dormant state.  This allows the plant to absorb water and get ready to grow once you put them outside in the garden.

Early Planting of Strawberries and Potatoes

I have received my potatoes and strawberry plants this evening in the mail.  I had ordered them this year and I would be getting them sometime in the beginning of the growing season.  Today they arrived and I need to plant them in the garden as soon as possible.

This means I have to start working the soil a little bit sooner than I had anticipated.  I was hoping these would come in a little bit later and possibly the end of March.  It looks like these plants will have to be in the garden sometime this week.  It is supposed to be a good day on Thursday so it looks like I will be aiming for that day to put them in the ground.

Amaranthus, Cosmos, and More Flowers Planted Indoors

It is that time when planting indoors will be very beneficial during the garden season.  I wanted to get as many different flower seeds as possible including amaranthus, calendula, cosmos, statice, and a few more wildflower seeds.  You can never have too many flowers in the garden.

I used the same type and size pot for almost all the seeds except for cosmos.  These are actually a type of sunflower plant, but they do not grow like the typical sunflower that we all know.  They are smaller and grow beautifully colored blossoms that insects and butterflies use for food.  I placed them in larger pots because out of all the flowers they will need the extra room that these other containers have.

I am just going to place these in the windowsill while a week or two later it will be time to start my tomatoes indoors and these will be under grow lights.

Just twenty containers of seeds is a good amount to start with at the moment.  I still have many more flowers that I need to plant, but those will come a little bit later.  I would say around late March I should start planting them.

Just Beginning My Indoor Planting With New Flowers

I wasn't sure if I was going to plant some new flowers this season, but in the end I found an interesting flower mix that is supposed to lure hummingbirds and butterflies into the garden.  To be honest I have plenty of butterflies in my garden each year, so I won't be surprised if I get the same amount.  I am looking forward to hopefully get some hummingbirds buzzing around in the garden.  They are rare in my area and it would be nice to see at least one this season.

Along with these seeds I also planted my normal alyssum and some dill for the new season.  I like growing them because they are quite consistent and bring some amazing insects that I will need for the season.  I hope to continue planting through the weekend and finish up in a few days.