Getting ready to start seedlings?

I've got seed potatoes and bulb onion sets waiting for the ground to thaw ... a week ago we were at single digit temps . I'll also be growing bell peppers and trying again for some salad stuff . Other than tomatoes that's probably it except for the berries (straw/blue/black) .

Started several varieties of lettuce, onions, shallots, plus sweet marjoram ~three weeks ago. I've got tons of seedlings up that need to be transplanted into larger cell packs or pots already. The only thing not yet up is the parsley which is always a slow-to-grow seed.

In another couple of weeks the warm weather crops will be started under the plant lights: tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, etc.

So there are signs of spring, if only under the plant light on my kitchen counter.

Nyssa, who has really over-planted those lettuce seeds and needs to thin 'em out

I'm hedging my bets this year and starting a little later. I'm also going smaller numbers on the seedlings. I'm going to get rid of the old pots as too small and too stiff to get the seedlings out without significant damage.

So now, soft silicon pots at 3.5in across, 3.5 deep. Drainage wholes and had stuff around to make the trays.

All my berries are on trees (cherries in 3 types). That and Apples in

I don't bother to starter lettuce. It likes me (grin). I just spread the seeds outside in the container garden, pat it on the head, and it takes off.

I figured how to get it laid out in 2 rooms. I have 2 grow lights. One goes inside an old entertainment unit for old style tube TVs (last used for a 60G fish tank). Grow light clips on and 2 arms will be set down to hit it. Interior to AC/Heat so no need for plant heaters. The sunroom gets the Floor unit with 4 arms and plant heaters once I setup (room not heated in winter, only early spring when it's pretty much

I think if I concentrate on a smaller set, it will go better.

this weekend i'll plant onion seeds indoors under grow lights. is too early to start seeds for anything else we grow. i didn't get my garlic planted in the fall. soon as the soil is workable even if it is partly frozen, that will be the first thing planted outside this year.

Today I was able to open the sunroom. It's been too cold mostly until today.

This morning I planted 90 onions ... the area I planted them is covered by a black woven weed barrier that so the soil is warmer than bare dirt . I'm going to wait another week or 2 to plant the taters since there's still a chance of a freeze here .

i am in western New York. grow zone 5. my raised beds are covered with a 4 inch thick sheet of ice and a foot of snow on top of that. nothing is getting planted in them just yet. :)

snipped-for-privacy@sdf.org wrote: ...

it's a bit too cold yet to be planting outside and i don't do much inside planting either since we don't have much room. the local greenhouse does a good job for us so it works out.

busy for me lately getting ready for a seed swap and going through my collection and deciding what projects i'll keep with and those i will let go.

songbird

Thursday, 27 February 2025

I poked the garden with a dandelion digger today, and it went down a good two inches. Two more, and I can harvest winter onions. It won't be in February this year, but it's going to be really early in March.

I didn't harvest onions on New Year's Day because I had some in the fridge. The garden has been socked in ever since, but harvesting ten months of the year ain't bad.

Friday, 28 February 2025

Since winter onions are strong, three will be a three-day supply for two people. (He likes the white end, I like the green end.)

Slacker, making excuses (grin)

we had an out of season thaw this week and last night after work i was going to check the garlic bed to see if i could work it, but during the day the temp dropped 20 degrees and it was hella windy by the time i got home. this morning was even colder with a bit of snow blowing around. i had hopes of getting the garlic in the ground tomorrow (saturday) morning. i'll check, but i doubt it.

Works! For me, I'm more of the warmer weather plants grower.

I got sidetracked with some other stuff but since we pretty much work them to outside in later April, no harm.

snipped-for-privacy@sdf.org wrote: ...

cold here and snow the other day, it's way too early for any garden work and also too wet.

songbird

had a warm snap earlier this week, upper 50s - lower 60s a couple days in a row. is cold again but above freezing during the day. yesterday was able to dig the heel of my boot in the garlic bed about 3 inches deep before hitting frozen solid soil. maybe, just maybe i'll be able to plant the garlic this weekend or early next week.

a few daffodils and hyacinths are peeking out of the ground. :)

flood of sins wrote: ...

we'll be seeing some of those soon here and the earliest planted flowers that tend to be the bulb irises. we have some wildflowers that pop out really quick. they are very tiny plants - the native bees will find them right away and it is funny to see a bee that is much larger than the plant feeding.

songbird

speaking off bees, i'm over-seeding our entire front lawn (front half of our property) with white (dutch) clover this spring. if it grows well and i expect it will, i'll likely kill the grass and clover and grow just clover next year. nitrogen fixing so always green. grows low so low to no maintenance. bees absolutely love it. asshole next door neighbor considers it a weed and it spreads rather quickly. everywhere i look i see clover as a win. :)

yesterday after work i grabbed a shovel and headed to the garlic bed expecting to loosen it up and half of it is still frozen solid a few inches down. mother nature, why you tease me? :/

Tuesday, 18 March 2025

I havested some garlic chives yesterday, and there are leaves on the catnip.

Since I don't move as fast as I used to, I grow only perennials, garlic, and multiplier onions. If a potato sprouts, I'll lay it in the garden and cover it with a mound of dirt from under the compost heap.

The garlic is up, but I still have a sound bulb from last year, with only one clove missing. I suspect that it's an under-nourished giant garlic, which is really a leek.

flood of sins wrote: ...

are you trying to attract deer? you will still end up mowing it once in a while to control certain weeds and you probably don't want it reverting to forest.

we've had several rounds of snow (more due this week, not sure yet if it will be much or what), plus windstorm that took the power out for a day and a half.

i have been able to get outside and start doing some minor things when the weather permits - still a ways to go before any planting. gardens look ok. i had them in pretty good shape last fall right before the snows started up.

songbird