Winter Blues
Despite a few days of temperatures in the mid 40's, the fact that snow remains on the grass and predictions of more snow this week is taking its toll on this anxious veggie gardener. Yes, it is unreasonable to think that by the end of February, all would be right in the garden world. In fact, I can almost predict with certainty that we get at least 3-4 more snow days before we come out of hibernation.
Meanwhile, my seedlings are coming along quite well. I finally gave in and purchased one more wire rack, this one with wheels and a four foot span so I can provide enough natural sunlight for all the seedlings I am growing. The tomatoes are doing the best and I am hopeful that out of the 15 I have, I will be able to get at least half to hang tough for garden transplanting on May 4.
I put a thermostat in my cold frame to see how much heat is in there during the day, as I would like to start taking out my lettuce seedlings just to provide them with some more sunlight and get hardened off. I will probably also put out the pea seedlings for the same purpose. All this might have to wait until the end of the week, as weather predictions are quite gloomy.
So to brighten up the last of winter's hold on us, here are some updated photos.
These are my lettuce seedlings on the new wire rack. They are doing very well. I am hoping I can eventually plant them into the cold frame by the middle of March. I already have parsley overwintering in the cold frame that looks like it did quite well.
These are my onions, chamomile and petunia seedlings. I am not sure about the onions as they are not the most ideal for our area, but they were Burbee onion seeds, so we will see. I will purchase some onion sets from Agway in the middle of March for planting. Last year I bought 120 onion shoots from Dixondale that did very well, but the cost was a bit steep ($15). They were much larger than I previously had for the Agway sets and they had a very good shelf life. So, we will see.
Here is one example of a 4th of July tomato plant (of a total of 15). It has been transplanted 3 times and will probably get one more transplanting sometime late March. If all goes well I will put them out in the garden on May 4th, with lots of protection provided by wire cages and plastic. If they remain reasonably sized I will also use the Wall of Water. We have had frost as late as May 15th (new moon), so I need to be very careful, as they are part of my gardening family now.
Here are some more tomato plants. All have been transplanted at least two to three times. Each time I put them deeper than their present height, thus enabling the stems to send off extra roots for strength and growth.
Meanwhile, our bird population continues to thrive as food is plentiful. Between thistle, sunflower seeds and suet, I think the birds around here know the best place for a free meal. I may be mistaken, as my wife is the one that really knows the various bird species, but I am hoping I am right in saying this is a nuthatch that is collecting some small branches. My wife says the nuthatch is the only bird that walks upside down on trees. Maybe there will be some young ones roaming around pretty soon.
Meanwhile, my seedlings are coming along quite well. I finally gave in and purchased one more wire rack, this one with wheels and a four foot span so I can provide enough natural sunlight for all the seedlings I am growing. The tomatoes are doing the best and I am hopeful that out of the 15 I have, I will be able to get at least half to hang tough for garden transplanting on May 4.
I put a thermostat in my cold frame to see how much heat is in there during the day, as I would like to start taking out my lettuce seedlings just to provide them with some more sunlight and get hardened off. I will probably also put out the pea seedlings for the same purpose. All this might have to wait until the end of the week, as weather predictions are quite gloomy.
So to brighten up the last of winter's hold on us, here are some updated photos.
These are snapdragons that I initially grew in jiffy discs and transplanted into six cell packs. The transplanting was quite simple, just getting the jiffy discs to separate and then taking individual seedlings by the leaf and putting them into their new homes. They are under grow lights right now and have doubled in size in about three days.
These are my lettuce seedlings on the new wire rack. They are doing very well. I am hoping I can eventually plant them into the cold frame by the middle of March. I already have parsley overwintering in the cold frame that looks like it did quite well.
These are my onions, chamomile and petunia seedlings. I am not sure about the onions as they are not the most ideal for our area, but they were Burbee onion seeds, so we will see. I will purchase some onion sets from Agway in the middle of March for planting. Last year I bought 120 onion shoots from Dixondale that did very well, but the cost was a bit steep ($15). They were much larger than I previously had for the Agway sets and they had a very good shelf life. So, we will see.
Here is one example of a 4th of July tomato plant (of a total of 15). It has been transplanted 3 times and will probably get one more transplanting sometime late March. If all goes well I will put them out in the garden on May 4th, with lots of protection provided by wire cages and plastic. If they remain reasonably sized I will also use the Wall of Water. We have had frost as late as May 15th (new moon), so I need to be very careful, as they are part of my gardening family now.
Here are some more tomato plants. All have been transplanted at least two to three times. Each time I put them deeper than their present height, thus enabling the stems to send off extra roots for strength and growth.
Meanwhile, our bird population continues to thrive as food is plentiful. Between thistle, sunflower seeds and suet, I think the birds around here know the best place for a free meal. I may be mistaken, as my wife is the one that really knows the various bird species, but I am hoping I am right in saying this is a nuthatch that is collecting some small branches. My wife says the nuthatch is the only bird that walks upside down on trees. Maybe there will be some young ones roaming around pretty soon.
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