I finally got my hands into the dirt today! I am sure it is easier for most others....for me (who ends up treating each season like a science experiment), it is all about figuring out exactly which vials of seeds for any given crop to grow. And there is a method to my madness (sort of...)
So right now, in the sunny south facing window of my office, is a flat of lettuce, spinach, chard, kale and beets. I like to plant thickly in the 1.5 inch cells, then transplant to larger pots prior to the move to the garden - it gives me more control of what I grow and allows me to track germination better. Plus I find that with so many weeds in my garden, direct seeding anything except beans and squash ends up in a mess.
I am trying pre-planting beets this year as an experiment. Because you end up with several seedlings per seed, it turns into an exercize in thinning. I am going to try to avoid that by using small transplants, hoping to get larger, more uniform beets, less troubled by weeds (it is me that the weeds trouble, really!).
Thanks to my Michigan gardener friend Jeff, I have a nice selection of unusual lettuce to try. I planted 26 types of lettuce this morning, between 15-20 seeds of each - a mix of cos, leaf and crisphead types of all sorts of colors and origins. I also plants 4 types of spinach, Red Russian kale, arugula, and Swiss Chard Bright Lights. Finally, I seeded four types of beets - Burpee Golden, Touchstone Gold, Chioggia, and Ruby Queen.
This afternoon I hope to get eggplant, hot and sweet peppers seeded...then, later this week, get to the crown jewel of summer crops - tomatoes!
So right now, in the sunny south facing window of my office, is a flat of lettuce, spinach, chard, kale and beets. I like to plant thickly in the 1.5 inch cells, then transplant to larger pots prior to the move to the garden - it gives me more control of what I grow and allows me to track germination better. Plus I find that with so many weeds in my garden, direct seeding anything except beans and squash ends up in a mess.
I am trying pre-planting beets this year as an experiment. Because you end up with several seedlings per seed, it turns into an exercize in thinning. I am going to try to avoid that by using small transplants, hoping to get larger, more uniform beets, less troubled by weeds (it is me that the weeds trouble, really!).
Thanks to my Michigan gardener friend Jeff, I have a nice selection of unusual lettuce to try. I planted 26 types of lettuce this morning, between 15-20 seeds of each - a mix of cos, leaf and crisphead types of all sorts of colors and origins. I also plants 4 types of spinach, Red Russian kale, arugula, and Swiss Chard Bright Lights. Finally, I seeded four types of beets - Burpee Golden, Touchstone Gold, Chioggia, and Ruby Queen.
This afternoon I hope to get eggplant, hot and sweet peppers seeded...then, later this week, get to the crown jewel of summer crops - tomatoes!
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