HOPPY EASTER!

The indoor plants have moved to phase 2 of the growing process. Where we had 3 greenhouses previously, we have now reduced to 2 and added a table. Some of the plants have outgrown the warm little houses and needed to be moved to a sunny spot where they could continue moving up.

The tomatoes were the main culprits in needing to move one of the greenhouses out to make room for a table in the sun. Though placed on the top shelf of the greenhouses, they were quickly getting to the point that taking them out and off that shelf was going to become a challenge. On top of that, they were ready…past ready in some cases…of being topped up with soil and support spikes added. So we decided to give them a little extra love and get them setup in their next home.

First we topped them all up with soil As you can see from the photos below, we had a couple that had curled stalks, which means they should have been supported sooner. One had gone so far as to start throwing new roots. We decided to let it continue and covered that curl in the stalk with soil. For those that were tall enough, we added support bamboo and some hemp string to offer a little support while they get a little stronger. Where they are setup also allows us to open our sliding door to the deck to let in some cooler air and a slight breeze, which will help start the process of getting them ready for outside. Eventually, we will put them out on the deck during the day to let the roots get super solid before we transplant them into their summer homes in the garden.

The peppers were also ready for a top up of soil, but not yet ready to come out of the greenhouse permanently. We topped up all the pots and let them chill with the tomatoes for a little bit before we placed them back in the warm greenhouse to get a little taller before making their way permanently to the table. They will be indoors the longest of all the plants, being finicky about heat. Last year, we put them out right at the end of May, a few weeks later than the rest of our plants and it resulted in the best peppers we have ever had. So we are going to follow that strategy again, ensuring they are hardy and the weather consistently warm for them.

We have never grown broccoli before, and so far we are really enjoying it. The plants look to be very healthy and are growing great. Our goal will be to find the right place for them in the garden so that we can enjoy them throughout the summer and not have them bolt and flower. It will certainly be a learning experience, but my co-worker has experience with them so I have someone I can go to with questions.

The cauliflower is being difficult. So far I have only one plant that is slowly getting bigger. I had another one, but it got stuck in its seed and I was unable to get it off, so it eventually wilted. I also went out and bought another batch of seeds because I realized the seed that I had used was old, which is why I thought I only got 2 of 6 come up, but after planting brand new seeds, none have come up, so I’m not so sure now. I may try one more time to get some going, but if they don’t go, then I will have to admit defeat for starting them all from seed and purchase some plants at the nursery that we go to.

The red cabbage is doing great. Getting nice and big so that it is strong for when we transplant it. We will be starting a few other items in the beds after this week, so perhaps we will have to look at transplanting these in the next week or so. I may even do another batch of them in the fall if we end up enjoying all this cabbage throughout the summer.

Our celery are really starting to look full now. They still have a little ways to go before we are ready to get them into the garden, but they are certainly looking happy and should transplant well.

Our herbs are all coming along. There will still be a few herbs that I will likely get from a nursery as I wasn’t able to find the seeds for them, but the ones we have started are doing well. The basil and dill are taking off. The rosemary is slowly but steadily growing and my second planting of seeds is resulting in more plants coming up. The sage was slow to start but is now picking up momentum. The only herb that didn’t produce was the oregano, but that is ok. My co-worker has a large patch that comes back each year, so she said she can bring me some if needed. I’ll trade her for some celery.

The marigolds have been trucking along. They were removed from the greenhouse a week ago to make room for some more plants, but that hasn’t slowed them down. They are now hanging out with the tomatoes on a table in the sun.

Onions, onions, onions and onions are all doing great. We have red, yellow, shallot and scallion. I think they are all doing well? This is the first time we have planted from seed. They all have nice long green tops that seem to be growing, but I have no idea how the bulbs are doing. These ones will be quite the experiment. Worst case, we will have to go and grab bulbs and plant them a little late, but hopefully we won’t have to do that. I am going to do a bit more research to make sure we are giving them the time they need and transplanting them properly.

We may have overdone it with our snap dragons. They are very full and growing tall, but there are a lot of them in each pot. Hopefully we will be able to spread them out a bit, but if not, we will move them in their groupings into larger pots where they will be able to expand and grow.

Kurt transferred our sweet peas into some outdoor pots a few weeks ago and built them some towers to climb. They have been growing and climbing great over the last week or so and seem to be filling in a bit. Kurt also started a second batch of the seeds so we can do a few more pots. So far so good!

Overall we are very happy with everything we have started so far. Hopefully as the season progresses and we start moving everything to their summer homes outside, that things continue to work out. I think it will, we started everything early enough to give them time to grow strong. We will give them all time on the deck to get used to being outdoors, and bring them in for the cooler evenings. Once we hit mid-May we will start putting them out into the garden beds.