All my seedlings seem to be doing great. I have 2 grow lights and 2 shelves of plants.
The tomato plants I started 5 weeks ago are bigger than what I normally buy in a store. I seeded them too early. Now I have to deal with these plants that are too big and take up too much space.
I moved all the seedlings I planted 3 weeks ago to bigger pots. They should be about the right size when I’m ready to put them outside.
I planted 8 each of 4 varieties of peppers today. I’ll keep the potting soil moist and sitting on a heat pad.
The plants I seeded a few weeks ago are starting to grow– I transplanted the sprouts into individual pots and they’ve been living under some new LED grow lights. It was probably too early to start the tomato plants, but I did it anyway. I was told by several online that I shouldn’t try to transplant seedlings until the plants have 2 to 3 sets of real leaves. But I remember reading about someone who liked to plant them closely in a big container, then transplant them into pots as soon as they sprouted. I’m trying this out, because it is easier to sprout them in a big container and you can quickly see if they are going to grow or die.
Buying potting soil is such a pain! Seems like all the normal brands and what is available at the stores is complete garbage. I think it is worth it to buy ProMix BX. It is great, very consistent texture, no trash or sticks in it, and has worked great for me. Problem is the shipping. The big bags weigh 60lbs each. I feel like I lucked out and found that I can order it from my local Ace Hardware store for about half the price the big stores wanted for it, and they even delivered to my house for free.
planted a few tomato, pepper, and eggplant seeds today. They are on a heat mat to bring the soil temperature up to a temperature that will promote seed germination
I’m several weeks behind and didn’t even have time to plant the onions I bought, but today I did manage to get the raised beds cleared out and a few things planted. I used my tiny chainsaw on the monster okra plants, which worked great.
Last week was sunny with the temperature in the 90’s, and 2 days ago a strong cold front came in and this morning at 6:45 am, we got down to 32.0F for a bit.
I removed the season extenders from my tomato plants. I planted the tomatoes 2 weeks early and didn’t need the season extenders at all this year.
Since I had to get out for essential materials at Home Depot, I walked through their garden section and picked up 4 of their outrageously priced plants: 3 peppers and basil. Aiden and I got them transplanted, watered, and piled a thick layer of old leaves around everything.
Aiden and I went on the tour of Texas Worm Ranch that was set up just for the members of North Texas Vegetable Gardeners. A nasty thunderstorm moved in while we were there and we hung out in the bathroom because the winds were so bad the roof next door was flying off.
After we left the worm farm, we went over to Carol Garrison’s urban homestead and she gave us a tour of her front yard vegetable garden, chickens, tropical garden, rainwater harvesting, greenhouse, composting, and fish. She dug up some of her blackberry bushes and a special okra plant and set us home with these plants! I came home and put them in the ground. I just checked on them this morning and they seem to be doing good so far.
The Pomegranate Tree I planted last fall didn’t bud or leaf out this spring, so I called Stark Bro’s and they shipped me a new one with zero hassle! (This was tree 16 shown here) It was delivered by FedEx today, so I replaced it.
I also picked up one more pepper plant at the CCMGA Plant Sale this morning, along with a few flowers and a thyme plant. After these were planted, I mulched the beds with leaves. I still left areas un-mulched where I have seeds planted.
I picked up some pepper plants and another tomato plant from McKinney Feed and Seed yesterday, and planted them today, along with some lime beans and bush beans. Sometime last week, I planted cucumbers, cantaloupe, and watermelon. I took pictures of my new trees also.
