Growing Seedlings

I'm so happy my seedlings are doing better this year, especially since it is my first attempt at growing tomatoes from seed. Here's some quick picks of my green babies:

the whole setup

mountain magic tomatoes

red romaine (front) & swiss chard (back)

gem marigolds, green romaine & ground cherries (l to r)

gem marigold close up

teeny ground cherries (back & right)

New Grow Light Setup Finally Done

There it is in all its 2 24", 20 watt full spectrum florescent bulb glory, with the leggy lettuce seedlings underneath. Of course, after we finally finish it I read additional information that says you should use 40 watt bulbs, not 20 watt which is what I bought. Gah. I really hope it is enough and I didn't waste my money! Guess we'll see.

New Indoor Lighting Set-up: Check! (Sortof)

We got the Gorm set up, but the 24" florescent light setup from Lowe's = fail. It has no plug or switch.I thought we'd have to return it but my partner says maybe we can use a "corded switch" for the shop light. Unfortunately I don't know anything about hooking up a shop light apparently. They made it seem so simple in gardening books, and I even asked the employee at Lowe's - but none of them said anything about the need to purchase and attach a corded switch.

Good news is, we had the other florescent lights and managed to jerry-rig them with duct tape and pipe cleaners. Also put the fan on them for good air circulation, and misted them with a spray bottle.

First Week of March Garden Update

I planted peas!! It was 69 degrees here yesterday, and despite 8 inches of snow and freezing temperatures in the beginning of the week, my raised beds were totally workable. I tested it with a shovel, and was able to dig up all the over-wintered carrots remaining from last spring. So, I set to work and cleaned up all 4 of the existing beds. First I removed the remains of the kale, dried branches, etc., then weeded & raked. I also extended the strawberry bed into twice its size. Then spread about a cup of rock phospate and another of cottonseed meal on the beds, lightly tilled it in with a garden claw and watered. Finally, I planted two types of peas.

I also started 6 types of lettuce inside last week. I soaked them first, and to my surprise I got 100% germination! So I have 25 individual seedlings about 1 inch tall now, and I put all the leftovers in one big tray to use as cut and come again variety. I have a little florescent light on them but today I'm going over to the hardware store to get a bigger light and we are going to build a table-top growlight system.

Finally, I started some flowers and herbs. I soaked johny jump ups and pansies using the soaking method, but they are just starting to germinate now so they aren't planted yet. I also winter-sowed some lavender, pansies, and johnny jump ups in recycled containers outside. Who knew it would get warm so fast! My partner also got me these neat looking soda-type-can planters from a computer show he went to last week. Inside are violas and lavender, plus soil & fertilizer already in there. So you just had to pop the can open and water it. Neither of these have sprouted yet either, so I guess we'll see what happens.

Here is the finished indoor setup on March 8th:



Update: This all of the lettuce, two days after the above (3/10), when I added a second florescent light: