There should be some sort of regulation...when it is supposed to be calm, sunny and 75 degrees in the spring, work should be cancelled.


Below is just a quickie clip of what's happening with the seedlings - late this afternoon I managed to get the sweet peppers transplanted.  On to the rest of the tomatoes (on tap for tonight - crickets and transplanting by the hum of the fluorescent lights!).

I don't know how I did this transplanting stage and retained my sanity before the iPod came along.  I've got mine docked in a portable speaker system and it is making time fly....well, that is if I get the music right.


My music tastes are pretty broad, and I've found out a few things about appropriate soundtracks for seedling transplanting.  I love jazz and classical, and I've transplanted to jazz in the past, but for whatever reason, it isn't working for me this year.  Just makes me kind of tired and unfocused.


So rock it is - Arcade Fire (you can get through a lot of seedlings listening to Wake Up!), Coldplay, Porcupine Tree - and of course, Radiohead.  David Yorn, David Gray, Steven Wilson, Steely Dan...Yeah, it is up kind of loud, and when Sue pops out to ask or tell me something I can tell it is louder than she likes.  But it is working - if I can get hot and sweet peppers finished today, I can get into the second half of the tomato alphabet.  What's great about the recent warming trend is that it should make for rapidly growing, really nice looking seedlings.  (last year's peppers and eggplant were not what I had hoped for).


How about a picture for the end of this day?  We are in the middle of a spectacular spring!  Here is a bee about to visit our cherry tree

The tomatoes got quite the drink of water last night.  Today's job (after work) is really quite simple....KEEP TRANSPLANTING!  On tab for today - hot peppers, then start into the sweet peppers.....alternating with tomatoes.


I am pleased I got through the flowers, herbs,eggplant and tomatillos.  Not sure whether the eggplant should go outside today, or spend another day in the comfy confines of our garage.


That was then (AM), this is PM.  The eggplant remain in the garage, but most hot peppers are transplanted and joined the tomatoes in the driveway.

Many of you know about our little international project to breed new dwarf growing tomatoes.  I wanted to demonstrate a few tips to distinguish dwarf from indeterminate varieties at the seedling stage.  Apologies for the poor focus in parts....the little flip video doesn't have a great ability to go close and keep it sharp.


I just linked this (12:45) - it typically takes YouTube some time to finish the processing, so check back if it doesn't play.

It is going to be a good day for transplanting and basketball!

Brrrr....transplanting this morning was a chilly experience.  The eggplant seedlings sulked in their plug flats, telling me how unhappy they were with the stiff, cold breeze.


I spent this morning transplanting my flowers and herbs, then got back to the tomatoes...the goal is to be through the first of the flats by the end of the day (ambitious), or at least late morning tomorrow.  Then it may be time to turn attention to peppers and eggplant.  The "driveway greenhouse" will begin to form tomorrow!


Germination data on tomatoes looks really good for the most part.  The potato leaf/regular leaf ratio on my potato leaf varieties is looking good as well, indicating little to no crossing happened last year (I will put some data in a future post).

So the dance starts now - though the joke is on Mother Nature - it was easy to get my plants into the garage (the hundreds I transplanted yesterday are in their garage floor adjustment period, so it was just about bringing in the plug flats).  


Of course, starting tomorrow, the seedlings need to start populating the driveway to make reasonable size by mid April.  So the transplanting will go into hyper-drive this weekend!


Sue and I took a mid-day walk through the Raulston Arboretum - the Magnolia trees were the stars of the day.  Just incredible - all pastel shades, all gorgeous.

Here is another look at how I transplant my packed in cells of seedlings into the 4 inch pots - since I had no access to a camera person, I tried talking, transplanting and videotaping all at once.  Hope you find it useful!  If all goes well, I will have lots of seedlings transplanted by the time I turn in tonight.

It was a busy day at work....at 6 PM, just starting to ponder the garden and plants and tasks.  But - WOW - beautiful evening, blue sky, perfect temperature - the spirea, forsythia and cherry tree are blindingly vivid.  A few pics to follow later on.


And....perhaps tomorrow another transplanting clip, this one with some closeups.  Tonight I want to write out as many plant labels as I can bear, which speeds up the transplanting process tremendously.

It is at that point where the weather is less a factor than what needs to be done...the seedlings are ready, things need to get moving to hit the mid April target...so today the serious effort starts.

Here are a series of pics to show progress.....

Three trays of tomato seedlings - 5000 seedlings in quite a small area!

Close up of tomatoes to show progress

Kellogg's Breakfast showing the typical early seedling problem, which we on Tomatoville, with great technical aplomb, call "crud"!  

Here is the Cherokee Purple I showed being transplanted on the video from last week

The transplanted beets are looking great!

Mondays after such a beautiful (and productive!) weekend are sure rough - but it is what it is. 

Spring didn't just arrive - it transformed the surroundings seemingly overnight, announcing itself in a riot of colors.  The consistent cold of this winter held back things like the double white Spirea, camellia, quince and flowering fruit trees.  The forming buds didn't get fooled into opening, only to get nipped by the frost, turning them an ugly brown - as in recent years.  The emerging blossoms are clean, vivid and complete.  Of course, there is pollen being shed as well...the price you may for all of this spring beauty (and well worth it!).