What have you done today in the Garden?

Pricked out 107 polyanthus seedlings into cell trays, they're trays from last year when we bought the polyanthus. But this year there were a lot in the flower border.

 

I had to look up polyanthus. Now I know! It will be a very pretty border.

 

Gave away another half dozen tomato plants. Set the remaining perennial seedlings temporarily in a veggie raised bed. I think outdoors is OK for them now. That makes room on the seedling racks. In a couple days, after the deck repair guy is gone (if he shows up), I will plant the tomatoes outdoors in their final spot, and plant squash and cucumber seeds.

 

It was raining this morning, which is lovely. It will wash away the snow mold which really gets both of us sneezing. Yesterday was a longer day than expected, but very rewarding. Hubby built the new and improved Artichoke raised bed, and everyone went into the pool. They are so much happier out of their pots. Definitely not their nature to be grown indoors in pots for months, but they certainly are a tasty treat.



The corn bed was prepped and sweet corn started in pots. We can't grow much, only enough for a few dinners and a wee treat. Ever year is a gamble but can be rewarding. They need the shelter and black mulch to attract some heat. The side of the horse stable is their home.



The tomatoes also had to jump into the pool. ( 12 in the beds, five in pots ( including four dwarf cherries) They have a heated soil cable keeping them between 12 and 14 C at the roots ( although it can't support all of the roots ) and at night there are two drop down heat lamps and remay goes around them. It's not perfect but keeps them a few degrees warmer than outside. They are not pleased right now, but with some luck and strategy, I'm really hoping for a good crop.

It has been four years since I've had tomato success after 15 years of glory, so we shall see. I'm trying red mulch this year for the first time. I'm still not 100 % sold on its claim of producing ripened fruit earlier, but if it does it will be worth it. The University Agriculture programs are studying it now and suggest it is so, which I what I tend to follow the advice of. Ag Students are the best and exploring things and producing great data.

 

Logan, may I ask as .... I'm relatively new to seed starting since being at home ( going on four years now). When you say that you prick them out.....do you start your seeds in growing medium and remove them once germinated? Then transfer them to cells? I'm very curious about this. I have limited space and one kick at the cat ( so to speak) with starting seeds. I hate planting two or three to a cell and keeping one ( feels wasteful) but if I don't, sure enough I have empty cells or unhealthy starts. Do they have to be very young or newly germinated to do this? I'd really appreciate hearing your approach to seed starting.

 

With no bedding plants, or hanging baskets, for the most part, "propagation" is mostly left to nature in our garden, so there was nothing for me to do today. Tomorrow I might cut the grass, or leave it to Wednesday.

 

@Melody Mc. I found the very small seedlings in the flower border and dug them up then put them in seed trays with compost. Waited until they had a few leaves on them,I hope that you can see them better in this pic.some are smaller but still did them.

 

Thank you Daniel W

 

Melody, I like hearing about your growing challenges and how you deal with them. Mate , those toms look great. I also like the red soil cover— what a lovely colour scheme. Cool that you could talk your pet rocks into helping with the project.

Loggie, your little polys look good.

 

i did nothing today, but yesterday....

14 bags of top soil and 4 bags of manure right in my vegetable garden! YEAH!!

 

Thank you Sjoerd

 

I weeded the onion bed (still one bed to go) and picked sugar peas. We planted Cascadia sugar snaps for the first time, and they are doing well, very well. I need to pick lettuce again and weed the tomatoes. The problem with having fertile soil is that the weeds just love it!

 

@Logan - Thank you so much for explaining. What a good idea. I'm hoping to have more time next year to wrangle my flower gardens back into a more organized state. There are always little babies here and there. I never thought to pot them up and then put them where I wish. Thank you Logan.

@Sjoerd - Thank you for the kind comment. I'm curious to see if the red plastic does as it says it will The pet rocks made me laugh. With the creek here, and the mountain behind the house, rocks are everywhere. My son was a collector of "cool rocks". When we cleaned his room out from boy to teenager, there were two five gallon pails accumulated in various places in his room. I had to promise to not part with them, so they have moved around from here to there. They now reside down by the barn as balast for the snow plough truck. At 26 he was still going down to look through them and admire. I have some of the favourites about the house.

 

@Melody Mc. your welcome

 

Just tied up a few more clematis.

Digressing.

My wife is into orchids. particularly white ones.
She manages to get most of those I buy her to flower again after a "period of rest on a kitchen window sill."
"Isn't amazing how this one looks very much like the artificial one next to it?"