Well, I've now got quite a lot of seedlings going under the lights.  Let's see if I can remember...

• 4 six-packs of Romaine
• 4 six-packs of Coleus
• 3 six-packs of Basil
• 12-pack of large Zinnias
• 15 Tomatoes
• 11 Kale
• 17 Rudbeckia
• 4 bigger, older Coleus

The Romaine are starting to show, so that's good.  The Basil have all germinated, as have the Zinnias.  The Tomatoes actually look better than they did a week ago.  I left everything along for nearly 4 days, and shit got dried out.  It's bad up there. 

Oh!  and wtf, the Basil has this green mold on the top of the soil.  Only the Basil.  Everything else looks good.  And it was all done with the same soil.  Hmm.  

Right now I am soaking the tomatoes, which is a slow process.  Things are looking better.  

I cannot start anything else anytime soon.  I don't have containers and I don't have space.  I could rotate things, right, I could switch things out under the lights daily.  But all the small six packs are being used.  I even found another one, so now I have 11.  I guess that the Basil will be the next thing to get potted up into larger containers (which I totally have).  

The next thing to plant is the Morning Glory, and those are going directly in the containers.  That's the 30" containers.  So I need to buy large amounts of potting mix.  And 2 of the 3 are filled with sad little liriope starts, so I will need to move those, or plant them, or whatever.  I could do that this weekend.  It's going to be warm on Sunday.  

And where am I going to put these containers?  I was thinking I would put them in the window in the living room.  I guess I could bring them upstairs... but that sounds like a lot of work that I don't want to do.  

I've got a nice collection of seeds I saved from last year and I want to grow those as a fun experiment, so I think I will do one container with just those, and the other two with the new seeds.  I'm not gonna mess with any trellis or anything, I'm hoping that between now and when they go outside (about 7 weeks).  

So anyway, what am I going to do outside?  I need to rearrange my raised bed.  I will probably shovel all the dirt from the tomato side onto the other side and then refill with potting soil.  We're going to need a lot of it.  Better get Drake involved.  Luckily I can't do anything until it thaws out.  All the snow is gone, but it will be another few weeks before it's actually workable.  

I guess I should also be getting the gutter garden ready, since that will be planted with stuff the earliest.  It will thaw out fast.  I guess I will top it off with more soil 

I should probably try to harvest more worm castings...

Overall, the seed starting is going well.  Almost all the Rudbeckia look really good.  In another week or so, they will need to be transplanted up.  I'm not sure what I will plant them into.  Maybe half soda bottles.  I'll need to go buy some more seed starting mix this week.  Of course, I'm going to run out of space before too long.  They're getting big, and I won't be planting them outside until mid April (two months from now).  And I've got 18 of them, maybe 16 will really make it.  Yeah, I guess I can handle that.  Damn, if I end up with that many full grown plants, I can just fill the area with these.  

I transplanted the kale into water bottles last week and they are doing really well.  Of course they are pretty tall, so I need to have more space between the lights. And I gave them some worm castings on top and watered with some worm tea.  I am not worried about these.  I know they're tough, and now that they're in larger containers they are even less likely to dry out all the way.  I just need to keep an eye on them and make sure they aren't hitting the lights.  I only have 11 of them (one died) and I think I want all of them for myself.  Because I'm going to eat that much kale?  Well, because it will look better to have a nice row of kale than like, six.  I'm thinking about starting more kale.  These will be going outside in mid March, so anything I start now will be a baby by then.  

Based on that logic, I started the Romaine today and I opted for FOUR six packs.  24 Romaines.  That is more than twice what I need.  Of course I can give some away...  There isn't really a disadvantage in having too many, other than the space issue, and I can always throw some out.  I'm thinking I can transplant them in mid March, late March.  So, like 5 weeks from now.  I think I can get away with keeping them in the six-packs until then, because they won't get that big.  And I really will need to harden them off, along with the Kale.  

The Coleus... man, I'm really disappointed.  Hardly any of them germinated!  What did I do?  I consolidated 3 six packs down to one, that's how sparse they were.  And like an idiot, I bought more of the same large leaf pink one.  I also bought a packet of a mix of other large leaf coleus, but I'm kind of regretting that now.  I'm afraid there will be a lot of that weird burnt orange color.  I'm sure I can give those away.  There are only 20 seeds in there, as well.  

So what are we going to do differently with this round of Coleus?  

• Use new seed starting mix, not the leftover stuff mixed with so much perlite.  Maybe I had too much perlite.  
• Soak the soil in the packs really well before sowing the seeds.  
• Make really small indentations in the top and drop the seed on top. Instructions online differ on whether they need to be buried or placed on top.  The one that says to cover them sounds like it's just using generic seed starting instruction.  I trust gardeners.com more, and they say Coleus needs light to germinate.  And my understanding of how this relates to the size of the seed is consistent with that.  
• Sow one seed per cell.  I only had two cells germinate on the first attempt, and one of them has two plants right next to each other.  I'll get 12 of the big pink leaf kind, and I'd like to get as many plants as possible, obviously. 
• After that, only water from the bottom, pouring water into the tray below and letting them soak it up.  I find that hard to do, because it doesn't feel like I'm putting the water where it needs to be.  But I think I was washing away the seeds when I dumped water on top.  

Once they germinate, it's pretty easy to take care of them, same as any other seedling.  They don't go out until May, like when the tomatoes go out, so I should have plenty of time.  I'm going for 2 six-packs of the large pink ones, and then I've got 20 seeds in the mix, so I could do 3 six pack-s with that.  That's 5 six packs, plus the one I've got now.  So to plant the Coleus when they arrive, I will need to transplant the Rudbeckia, just to free up the containers.  I'll then have 6 of Coleus, and 4 of Romaine.  That's all 10 packs.  

On top of that, I've got a dozen Kales, 15 Tomatoes, and nearly 18 Rudbeckia, which are not small plants. I guess I could cull the tomato situation, since I clearly don't need 15 tomato plants.  But that doesn't really help me either.  If I cut it down to 3 of each, that gives me 6 more pots, but I need like, 20 more.  Not to mention the light and space issue.  I could think about getting another light, and another shelf.  Or I could rotate them, since I'm not using any kind of timer.  I really don't want to have to buy any containers just for seed starting.  I think I'm going to use cut-off seltzer bottles.  They're just about the right shape, and I have them in abundance.  They have the added benefit of being garbage, so if I do want to give stuff away, I don't lose a container.  I also really like being able to see the root growth,  

Ok so!  My new seeds will get here in a few days, and I will buy some new seed starting mix.  I'll move the Rudbeckia to these soda bottles.  And I will then plant some Coleus.  And then what?!  Ahh, I don't know.  Too many plants!!!

Pepper Plants

I had three pepper plants last summer- two Jalapenos and one Habenero.  I brought them inside with the hope of keeping them alive through the winter so I can start with some nice big plants this year.  Because I'm lazy, I did not take Mike McGrath's advice to really thoroughly wash them off before taking them in, and of course I am now reaping the consequences. 

One of the Jalapenos was producing really well through the fall and into December.  It was churning out peppers like crazy, but no new leaves.  About a month ago I noticed lots of webbing around the stems.  So I pulled it away from the others so it wouldn't spread to them, and I'm pretty much left it there to die.  

But now I see a lot of nasty little bugs on the other Jalapeno.  Google Image confirms that they are definitely aphids.  They are pretty localized on the outer most branches, which does make me think they came from the other plant.  So now what do I do?  I think I will cut off those branches that are just crawling with them, but then I should probably hose it down really well.  I could try doing it in the shower, since it is going to make a big splashy  mess.  But I could also do it in the kitchen sink, where I have a little spray thingy.  Of course it would get water everywhere, but with the current state of the kitchen, that can only improve it.  I just hope I can save it.  

I'm really pissed off about these peppers!  I've kept them going for like, 5 months, and just now the aphids show up?  Or more likely, they've been here the whole time and they've just now gotten out of control.  I would still really like to keep them going, which I would need to do for like, 3 more months.  Other than this aphid situation, I think I've done a decent job- I've kept the moisture level reasonable, I've given them worm compost for food, they get a ton of sunlight, I closed up the vent so they aren't getting dried out.  They've grown more bushy, not leggy, which should be a really good sign.  And when people have asked about aphids, Mike McGrath doesn't seem to say it's a lost cause, just that there is no need to spray them with anything other than water.  I think we can make it through this.  

"Forcing" Spring, in January

In the past few years, I have bought these little pots of meager tulips or hyacinths in the grocery store, out of some kind of desperation to see a little glimpse of spring.  Obviously these don't occur naturally, they are "forced" somehow so we can get these gorgeous flowers early.  The psychology of this is kind of cute- there are houseplants that bloom indoors this time of year, we could go out and buy an orchid for a similar cost.  But an orchid might as well be a beautiful silk flower or something; it doesn't even count.  But the sight of a crocus or a daffodil in the spring is so remarkable- we've just started to get some leaves on the trees, and even the hostas, the toughest plants in the world, haven't yet rallied beyond poking their heads up.  And in spite of that climate, we get these masses of perfect, vibrant flowers on showy tall stems, the kinds of flowers that seem like they would need to be grown in a Longwood Gardens-hothouse.  It's such a fucking miracle, and we see it every year, and I think we couldn't create a flower that spoke of hope and relief as much as a daffodil.  The daffodils are here; we're not going to die!

Last season, I tried to force a bunch of hyacinths.  I planted them properly and put them up in the attic, where I figured it would get cold, but not freezing.  I even left a water bottle nearby as an indicator- is it frozen yet?  But it did not get cold enough, and that was a pretty cold winter.  They sprouted these sad, pale, long, flaccid shoots.  

Of course, I have learned a great deal from Mike McGrath.  Whenever this question comes up, he asks, "Ya got a beer fridge?"  These things need to be in a fridge-like environment, but with NO FRUIT.  Apparently fruit causes premature sprouting, I think because of the ethylene.  I don't really like fruit.  The only fruits I typically have in my fridge are limes or lemons, primarily for mixing with vodka or tequila.  I do have some things that are technically "fruits," like bell peppers and cucumbers.  Do they emit ethylene?  Can I test this?  I need a... what is it, a head-space FT-IR?  

Back in late October, I potted up a bunch of the Tete a Tete daffodils in these nice little pots, I think about 8" in diameter.  I bought begonias in these pots, and I think I am getting more use out of the pots.  I used regular potting mix, I think it was old potting mix that had already been used all season.  I know that bulbs do not need any nutrition during this time, so I wasn't worried about the quality of the potting mix.  I did mix in more perlite, because I know drainage is so important.  Then I soaked them for a long time in the sink, labeled them with the type and the date, and put them up on the top shelf near the back.  

From Mike McGrath, I had in my mind that 12 weeks was the minimum number.  Then I was reading Fine Gardening recently and they listed some longer time.  And they specifically said, "Do not be fooled by green shoots emerging, that does not mean they have met their chilling requirement."  But I wanted to try it.  I took up the one that had the largest shoots coming out, and put it in the window.  I got some great blooms on it so far, and they keep coming!  

I put it on my little side table, basically a pedestal, and admired it all weekend.  Then this morning I brought it into work.   Last year I would have put it on my desk, but now with my new position my desk is at the opposite end of the building and I only even go to it 4 or 5 days a month.  So I put this in my lab, where I will see them more, and where we have customers visiting regularly, so maybe it will make it look nice?  When I was walking in with my little flower pot, I think people responded nicely.  Daffodils mean hope!  

I took out the next one this weekend, 2 weeks after the first.  Maybe I will bring it to my mom, I think she would enjoy that.  Also I will be gone all of next week, which is when they would be at their best, but that's not the point.

I also have some crocus in there, but I think they went in much later.  

Ok, I now have:

2 six packs of Kale
3 six packs of Coleus
3 six packs of Rudbeckia

sitting on a shelf under the 2 ft 4 bulb light.  I replaced 3 out of 4 bulbs (one was still lighting up, for now) and that one seems like the one that will give the best light overall.  The 2 ft 2 bulb one and the 3 ft 2 bulb one are also ready to go.

The Kale have mostly sprouted.  And I will admit, mid January is a little early, but when they get going, I can transplant them to something bigger, feed them a little, and they will be pretty nice sized plants by the time they can go outside.  It's hard to say when that will be, since we are having such a weird winter.

Same with the Coleus.  This is earlier than you're supposed to start them, but they grow so nicely inside.  I mean, they're shade plants, of course they do.

I have no idea what the Rudbeckia are going to do, but I know they said to start really early.  And these make a nice even 8 six packs, which fit nicely on one shelf.

And now I'm thinking about tomatoes.  I'm totally on board with the larger containers.  I want to start them now.  What harm can it do?  So they'll be a little big.  Why not get them going faster.

Someone called Mike McGrath once because he had started his tomatoes too early and he was running out of space for them. That was the only problem.  I can handle that!  Let's do it!  Starting tomatoes NOW!

So we got 30 seeds per pack.  I could do 3 seeds for each container, and I would only use half the packet.  That's probably right.  And I will put that under the 3 ft 2 lamp lights.  It will be awfully close to the lights.  But as soon as they start to grow, we can move the shelves up a notch or two.

Five of each tomato?  Yeah, no worries.  I'm sure I can find people who will take the extras. Especially the determinate tomato, because my work friends will be growing in containers.

When I plant them in the ground, I need to remove a ton of soil from that area.  So I need to buy a few bags of potting soil that I can fill it in with.  And then if I mulch it with a ton of compost, they should be fine, in spite of the third year of growing tomatoes there.  

Indoor Plants

I brought my pepper plants inside several months ago, like in October maybe, and they are doing so great!  I got tons and tons of jalapenos and habeneros, and the third one had just been sitting there, putting on leaves all day long. And now, the producing ones have slowed down and the other jalapeno has all these lovely flowers!

A month or two ago, I piled a bunch of worm casting on top of the lefty jalapeno and the habenero.  I didn't do anything to the other jalapeno because it didn't have all that extra space on top.  And after all, it was churning out peppers like crazy.  But the two with the compost have put on tons of leaves and they look so healthy and so good!  They're really full, like little trees!  I've tried to add a little to the not so full one and watered it with worm tea (compost tea?) but I'm sure it's not as good.  In certain light, like the low light right now, I can see that the new leaves are much lighter green on the Habenero, which isn't exactly good, but it's got a lot of new leaves so that's just fine, right?  The Habenero is definitely the fullest, and the prettiest plant.

Last weekend I saw it was going to get stupid cold, so I brought in the Rosemary. I think it's still ok.  I am really hoping it survives the winter inside.  Mike McGrath says it's really tough to keep the moisture level in the soil right.  But when it was outside, it went through periods of heavy rain for days, and no rain for more days, and it seemed just fine.

It's three little plants in a long container, so I don't know what I want to do with it long term.  I mean, I could try to take them out and put them in their own pots, but I am worried about screwing with all these roots probably all mixed up together.  I guess I'll try to keep it over the winter, and bring it outside, and once it starts growing again and proves that it's healthy, I'll feel more comfortable pulling one of them out.

I have these bulbs that I am forcing in the fridge, and some of them are coming up on the requisite 12 weeks.  I am a little worried because I don't know if the fridge is actually cold enough.  So because of that, I should probably aim for more like 14 weeks.  That puts me in the first week in February.  It will be so great to get some Daffodils in February.

Seed Starting 2016

Well, I just cleaned up the mess of dirt and dead plants in the laundry room and stowed away the lights, and I think it's time to start up again!  I ordered a ton of seeds from Burpee.  I did actually look through what I already have, and it's quite a lot, so I didn't duplicate any of that, but I still managed to reach more than $60.

I made a little schedule for myself, broken down by week between now and May.  To make the spreadsheet look nicer, I put one thing for each week, but in reality I'll probably do several at a time.  Space under the light is always the limiting factor, even though now I have three lights.  Really, I just need more shelves.  Maybe I should stop at Lowe's and get like, 2 more.  I also need to get lots of seed starting mix!  I go through that stuff like crazy.  Get 2 bags.

I am looking to do a few things differently this year.  I'm starting a little earlier, which maybe isn't the best idea.  But I'm totally ok with starting Coleus in January, because it does need a lot of time, and it makes a pretty nice houseplant in the meantime.  I got some nicer varieties of Coleus, not the generic mixed pack like I did last year.  I think it will look nicer to have a few large-leaved plants of the same variety instead of looking like the coleus section of the store.  I'm also planning to start some Radicchio and Kale in January.  I know those things say they're supposed to be directly planted in the ground, in the spring, but I don't want to.  I want them to get lots of good growth early, so I can put them out in like, March, and have nice plants in April.

I'm also trying an annual Rudbeckia, Indian Summer, which also is supposed to be started quite early.  I was admiring these plants in the garden centers last year, but they seemed too expensive for an annual.  A $5 pack of seeds is worth a try.

The big new thing for this year is starting my own tomato plants.  Yeah, I'm gonna do it.  I bought 3 different varieties- Brandy Boy, Sun Gold and Patio Paste.  I'm a little nervous about this, because Mike McGrath makes such a big deal about it, but it shouldn't be harder than any other seed starting, right?  Just start them under good lights about 8 weeks ahead of time, keep the soil moist, move them to larger containers as they grow, maybe feed them some worm castings when they get big enough...  I'm just concerned because they require a much longer lead time than the other things I've done successfully, like Basil and leafy greens.

This year, I also have a big tray of containers from some nursery starts that I bought last year, which should be really good for seed starting.  I'm wondering, should I start my tomatoes directly in those?  If I start them in those tiny 6 packs, I'll have to transplant them up after a few weeks, and I hate doing that.  A bigger container to start with would mean I can wait a lot longer before transplanting, have fewer transplants overall, and I think it would be less likely to dry out.  The downside is that it takes up more space.  Starting in the little six-packs allows you to fit more units under the lights, but if everything goes well, all of those little things are just going to get bigger, aren't they?  It's a kind of hedging your bets, assuming a portion of them won't make it.

I'll start them in the larger containers, what the hell, let's be optimistic.  I really can't remember how many of them I have, but I think the whole tray is about the size of the shelf... no, I think it's like, 30" long, because it fits on the shelf outside, and probably 12" deep, and I'm thinking 3x6.  I've got 3 varieties of tomato, and originally I was going to do one six-pack of each, but I certainly don't need that whole tray filled with tomato plants.  Or even half that many.

Um, I only have 10 of the six-packs, so I pretty much have to do the tomatoes in these other containers.  I will need to transplant things up by then anyway because I will have run out of six-packs.  So, if I start the Coleus this weekend (assuming the seeds arrive by then), I will probably want to do 4 six-packs, 2 of each variety.  The one I really want, it's only got 12 seeds per pack, so I'm only putting 2 seeds in each pod.  And they're like, 50 cents per seed, which seems high... I guess that means they're definitely going to work, right?  And, ok, do I really need 24 Coleus?  Well, why did you buy all those seeds if you didn't want that many?  And yes, actually, I personally need at least a dozen, and the rest I will give away to people at work, my neighbor, mom, Drake, whatever.  Everyone loves Coleus.

If the Coleus gets started this weekend, that's 4 six-packs, then 2 of the Radicchio, 2 of the Kale, 2 Rudbeckia, and that's all 10!  After like, 4-5 weeks, I may want to start on some other stuff, like Romaine and Bok Choy, so maybe the Coleus will be ready to transplant?

So let's just see how this goes.  I think I know what I'm doing at this point.  It's just a question of keeping everything watered and hopefully not leaving it for very long.