Tomato Seeds Now Planted Indoors With Others To Come

I just finished planting my tomato seeds this week and they are placed underneath lights to get them started a little bit faster.  Right now the weather has been quite cloudy and they would probably normally take twice as long if I were to put them in the windowsill.

Right now most of my seeds that I have planted have began to germinate and sprout.  Some of them are growing quite well and my second planting of flower seeds have also poked through the soil.  I need to start planting melons and eggplants since these plants take awhile to mature I want to give a good head start this season.  I hope to plant them sometime this week.  They too will be placed under fluorescent lights for the start they need.

Not much has changed in the tomato seed planting and I decided to do five seeds of cherry and steakhouse with 24 Roma seeds.  This should give me a minimum of 34 tomato plants with plenty of room to plant all my other fruits and vegetables.

Getting Some More Flowers Seeds Planted Indoors

I have many different flower seeds this season that I need to get planted as soon as possible.  My flowers are always the first to be placed outside so that they can produce flowers right away and continue blooming all season long.  Right now I have about nine seed packets that are only flowers and have begun planting a few of them inside.

My wildflowers that I tried last year are one of my favorites and have worked quite well along with my others that I grow each season.  They were able to attract many different butterflies, insects, bees, and much more.  Unfortunately I didn’t get any hummingbirds which was disappointing, but I plan on growing these seeds once again for their great benefits.

I also have some cosmos and cilantro that need to be planted as well.  Although cilantro is an herb it does produce a flower similar to dill and Queen Anne’s lace which is beneficial to attracting appropriate types of insects and bees. 

I usually don’t do well with Queen Anne’s lace and will probably have to thin out the plants so that one plant will be transplanted into the garden instead of a bunch of them which I like to do with alyssum and dill.  Luckily I get wild Queen Anne’s lace which happens to grow around the garden and attracts exactly what I am looking for each season.

I don’t know when I will begin planting more fruits and vegetables, but I think I will have to at least start my melons rather soon.  They take the longest to mature along with eggplants and I will have to start them indoors.  They need the earliest start possible and that means most likely growing them under fluorescent lights for a short time before the weather warms up and the sun is out longer.

With a New Season Comes Some New Crops

I am not changing the garden that much this year and instead will be introducing some new vegetables into the mix.  Potatoes are one of the new vegetables that I want to add into the garden.  I also decided on keeping peas and radishes and will have a little bit less lettuce than last year.

Spinach has always been a favorite and since I didn’t plant any last year I decided that I would plant some this season.  I also want to get some celery into the garden as well and I have started them inside for a head start.

Rhubarb and brussel sprouts are the two new things that I will add to the spring garden.  I used to have rhubarb many years ago, but I have actually never grown it myself and I decided that this would something new that I could add.  I love brussel sprouts and have never actually thought of growing it until now.

I am also growing some new types of lettuce.  Last year I grew all four types, but this season I want to add some new varieties.  Instead of ruby glow hybrid I will be substituting it with the king crimson hybrid.  I have selected green ice to take place of my looseleaf type that I planted last season.  I still will be planting all four types of lettuce just different types.

So far I have planted celery, the two new lettuce varieties, brussel sprouts, dill, and alyssum.  I probably should have started a little bit earlier, but if I place them under fluorescent lights I believe I could catch up in time for the spring. 

Other than these three things I think the garden will be the same as previous years.  I might have some new types of melons, corn, or other vegetables or fruits to grow this season, but hopefully we’ll have a fruitful season.

Gardening is Out and the Winter Season is In

It is now getting colder and most of my plants are done for this year except for a few peppers and my strawberry plants which will be protected with some straw.  I didn’t think my pepper plants would last through November, but I am still picking the peppers right off the plant until the very first frost which will end the season officially.



Before or when the ground freezes straw needs to be applied to plants that you want to save for next year.  Certain plants don’t need straw especially if they are perennials like blueberries.  Strawberries on the other hand can survive without straw, but you will be taking a risk not covering it with straw.  It is always best to cover them with straw before the real cold weather arrives.



At the moment I am just enjoying the very last of the summer fruit and vegetables.  I had recently started cutting my watermelons which are really tasty and juicy.  I am trying to keep them around for as long as possible in order to enjoy their incredible flavor.  They should be able to last a month or so as long as they are kept in a cool refrigerator.


Carrots are still outside in the ground and they will be ready once Thanksgiving comes around the corner.  In a couple of weeks I will have them up from the ground and they will be cut and ready to be eaten immediately.  With enough of them I could can them and enjoy them all through the cold winter months.  There is only one row, but if they are big enough I will can them for future enjoyment.

Melons are done and Ready for Harvesting

The only large fruit that was left from the summer were my watermelons.  It was that time this week to finally pick them from the vine.  They had been left outside long enough and they should be ripe inside once I cut them to see for sure.  All my melons are now done and all that is left are some remaining cherry tomatoes and peppers.



While I was outside I thought it would be prudent to continue picking some cherry tomatoes that were left on several of the plants.  Many of them are still green and just some sunlight to turn them red is what I am waiting for.  There were a few that were ready for picking and that is what I did this week.



Peppers on the other hand will probably last a little bit longer at the moment.  They have several fruit on the plants and I think I have many more pepper harvests in the near future.  Once a frost comes then it will be the end of these plants and the entire garden for the most part.