It’s been a long week! I’ve got a pretty mellow weekend planned so I’m hoping to write a little more in the next few days than I have been. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some pictures of my seedlings and talk about what I’m planning for the garden in the next few weeks.
seeds week one
A few weeks ago, I started seeds of three different types of tomato, bell peppers, spinach, lettuce, kale, cilantro, two types of basil, chives, thyme and two types of strawberry shoots. I also transplanted one tomato plant into a big pot by the front door. I like to use the plastic egg cartons to start seeds because the lid acts as sort of a mini greenhouse. So far, everything but the chives are growing! It’s been a lot of work pampering my seedlings during the last two frosts, and I’m really attached to my babies because of that!
seedlings week three
second tray of seeds, week three
Our nephew, Dax, is staying over tonight and I put him to work helping me get the trays transplanted into medium size peat pots. He did such a good job shoveling the dirt into the pots and inserting the markers for me! We got them watered and crossed our fingers that we didn’t shock the babies too much (especially considering how a five-year-old boy tends to handle delicate things!) He really did a great job and tried super hard to be gentle, while asking questions about the roots, the dirt and the process. Every moment is a teachable one, right? 😉 A cute kid really makes gardening so much better!
dax looking so serious!
This month has turned out colder than I expected, but I really shouldn’t have been surprised. February is generally the last risk of frost here in the desert, and a lot of things can be started indoors now. Here is what is on the garden agenda once things warm up here for good:
- Transplant some of the sweet basil, lettuce, spinach, kale, and strawberry into garden.
- Start seeds of okra and summer squash directly in garden, transplant new artichoke
- Prune rosebushes (light)
- Transplant purple basil seedlings into planters out front (I’m going for decorative/useful curb appeal this year!)
- Transplant tomato seedlings into individual pots around the yard (an experiment)
- Transplant pepper seedlings and the rest of the strawberries into pots; transplant the rest of the sweet basil, lettuce, spinach and kale into giant planter out front
- Trim back all frost damaged plants and fertilize
trying to hide his smile
If you garden, you know that there is always something to be done! I’m sure there are things I’ll add to the list as the weeks progress. But this is plenty for now! I’m doing a lot more in planters and pots than I normally do because the garden tends to get a lot of hot afternoon sun right when the tomatoes start producing. I also want to try to keep my greens longer into the season by keeping them from bolting. We’ll see how that goes… it’s only my third year really gardening, so I’m hoping this is my best yet! Feel free to share your garden plans here, and if you have any tips, I’d love to hear them!
that’s a little better!
