Seeds Arrived!

Finally this week my seed order arrived. Because I ordered them from Fedco through my local Coop, they were put in as a bulk order towards the end of January. I went to pick the seeds up on Monday. Unfortunately the later order date meant I didn't get any Fortex pole beans nor any Paprika pepper seeds. I guess those will have to wait for next year. The Coop order is nice because of the discount. However, next year I'll put in an early order for anything that is limited and for my onions and peppers which I want to have early.

As soon as I got home, I laid them out and sorted them into my seed box. Then I planted the 2 varieties of peppers that came, along with the onions. Last week I'd started the peppers I hand on hand, as well as my leeks. Some of the peppers are sprouting already!

Seed Starting Set Up & First Sprouts

This year I decided I wanted more room for starting seeds. I loved the seed starting light my husband made but there was no room for expansion with it. It also took up a large floor space that is hard to find a spot for in our new house.

Thanks to some generous Christmas gifts I was able to buy a new metal shelf and outfit it with three light fixtures. Right now I have one fixture on each shelf with a tray in the middle of the shelf. In future years I can purchase more fixtures and put two on each shelf and use the entire surface of the shelf for seeds. The top two shelves are being used for storage.
After getting the shelf and lights set up in front of the window in my craft room (obviously a girl's bedroom for the former owners) and my seeds sorted last week I was eager to start some seeds. My spreadsheet doesn't have me starting onions and leeks until the second week of February and with all the snow we have out there I don't want to be dealing with leggy seedlings. So I decided to take my oldest packets of lettuce and spinach seeds and start some in hopes of indoor salads in two months. I sowed thickly and they have sprouted surprisingly well for 5 year old seed.
So here are my first sprouts of 2011. They're an encouragement in the face of the foot of snow predicted for Wednesday this week.

The Last of Seed Starting

Tonight I started my squash and melons.
Here's the list:
2 pie pumpkins
2 Jarrahdale Pumpkins
3 Butternut Squash
1 Buttercup Squash
2 Delicata Squash
2 Golden Yellow Zucchini
2 Green Zucchini
2 Minnesota Midget Melons
2 Iroquois Melons

The pumpkins and melons are thanks to Miss M. I'm glad to have the room to let all these squash and melons grow and spread out in the garden. I think this is the last big batch of indoor seed starting for this year. From now on, everything should be sown in the garden.

Seed Starting 3/28/10

We were very busy with closing on our new house this weekend, but this evening we were back at the old one and I was able to squeeze in the main seeding of my tomatoes. I put two tomato seeds in most cells and if they all germinate, then I'll have twice as many when I divide them into their own cups. I'm planning on lots of tomatoes for canning this summer. Let's hope for warm weather.

Here's the list:
6 Purple Calabash (from Miss M)
6 Heirloom Mix from Fedco 2009
6 Market Miracle (from Daphne)
12 Amish Paste (from Mom)
3 Chocolate Cherry (from Daphne)
2 Red Zebra seed saved 2008
1 Green Zebra seed saved 2009
6 Long Purple Eggplant (from Miss M)
12 Pineapple Tomatillos (from Daphne).
12 Black Sesame Seeds.

Thanks to trades and saving, I didn't buy any tomato seeds this year!

I failed with the black sesame seeds last year. I hope I can do better this year. I think fertilization, sun, and heat will be the keys.

I also re-seeded 6 Brussels Sprouts. Only half of my 2008 seeds germinated and I want plenty of Brussels Sprouts this year.

It will probably be quiet around the blog for the next month as we work on re-doing some walls and then painting in the new house, and finally finishing the moving process. We'll be there full time by May and be ready to put many plants in the ground. I was tempted to put some lettuce seeds under a milk jug while we were there this weekend but we were too busy with other things. The garden will have to wait a bit yet.

Seed Starting

Update to the Seed Starting List

2/25/10
Chocolate Cherry Tomato (2) from Daphne
Red Zebra Tomato (2) saved 2008 from a store bought heirloom
Green Zebra Tomato (2) saved 2009
Sweet Chelsea Cherry Tomato (2) 2009 Fedco

My hope is that by starting my earliest tomatoes, I may get some fruit before mid-August.

2/28/10
Arugula (14) 2009 Peaceful Valley
Tatsoi (14) 2009 Peaceful Valley
Swiss Chard (10) 2009 saved (Bright Lights Chard, but the plant I saved them from was red so I'm curious to see whether they turn out more than one color or not)
Spinach (14) 2008
Cubanelle Sweet Peppers (4) from Mom

I got seeds in the mail from my mom so I needed to start the Cubanelle Peppers. We are just under a month from our closing date on a new house and when we drove by the house today they had less snow then we do. So I sowed some hardy greens in hope that we might be able to move the cold frame and transplant them into the ground in early April. We may have to dig the cold frame out of the snow here to make that happen.

First Seeds Started

Spring is on its way. Each day we can feel the sun getting warmer. Our temperatures have been unseasonably warm (above freezing!). Today I cleaned my seed starting trays with a mild bleach solution and started my first seeds.

I started my herbs because I found last year they were not big enough nearly soon enough. I started Rosemary, Oregano, Summer Savory & Sage. I have overwintered two thyme plants , one rosemary and two sages but the aphids are starting to attack those and so I'm hedging my bets by starting new seeds. These overwintered plants have been babied under the seed starting lamp but now they have been relegated to a sunny window so I can start other plants.

I also started three Winterbor and three Lacinato Kale, and six oak leaf lettuce. When we move I want to be able to move the cold frame in the new garden and place these inside.

Finally, I started my hot peppers. Last year I struggled with germination, and it took over a month for one. This year I'm finding a warmer spot and starting a month earlier. I planted 4 Habanero seeds from some peppers my mom gave me this summer. And I seeded 8 peppers from a Burpee Hot Pepper mix.

Here's the list so far:
2/21/10
Rosemary
Oregano
Summer Savory
Sage
Lacinato Kale (3)
Winterbor Kale (3)
Oak Leaf Lettuce (6)
Habanero Peppers (4)
Mixed Hot Peppers (8)