Seedling Update - Early April

So it seems that the long range forecasts going into the middle of April were wrong – hurray for that!  We will actually be seeing above seasonal temperatures, with highs in the teens (50's-60'sF) for most of the coming week.  Hard to believe when it's 2C (35F) outside this morning.

Each day – when it’s not raining that is – I am out there scouring the flower beds for any telltale sign that spring is finally here.  Will I finally see some green popping up in the perennial borders & herb bed?  I'm so looking forward to spending more than a few minutes outside (without freezing) and finally being able to tend to the beds.

On the bright side, at least there has been a lot to keep me busy indoors while I'm waiting.


Asparagus

My little asparagus seedlings are a mass of ferns right now.

Asparagus - 8 weeks
 

I planted one seed per cell & every one of the 26 seeds germinated.  A couple of weeks back, I noticed something that got me very excited:

Eye Spy a 2nd Spear!
 

We all know that asparagus crowns produce multiple spears, so I probably should not have been surprised when I saw those 2nd spears, yet surprised I was.  Only 11 of the 26 cells have double spears so far, but I am keeping an eye out for more.


Onions & Leeks

The alliums are now being hardened off so that I can get them into the ground next week.

Onions & Shallots - 7 weeks
Bunching Onions - 5 weeks
 

The onions have received a couple of haircuts in the last few weeks; I usually trim them so that they are about 3” tall or so.

Surprisingly, even though I finished seeding the bunching onion cells (with pre-germinated seeds) over 4 weeks ago, I had some seedlings coming up as late as last week.  I’m still having issues with watering (which may account for the late emergence or absence of some seedlings) but overall, I think I'm doing a better job at keeping the onion flats moist than I did last year.

As for the leeks, the Lancelot are looking good.  The Jolant, however, are not doing nearly as well.

Leek Seedlings - 5 weeks
 

On the bright side, a couple more of the Jolant did come up, although one of them looks pretty weak and likely won't make it.


Brassicas & Spinach

With the turn in our weather, I have now started to harden off the collards, kale & spinach seedlings and they will hopefully be getting into the ground next week.  All of these should have been planted out this past week & the collards especially are on the leggy side, but I'm not too worried.  Last year I transplanted the collards a full 3 weeks late and they did just fine.

Collards, Kale & Spinach Seedlings
3 weeks old
 

At this point, I am especially anxious to get the spinach in the ground while our days are still relatively short.


Peppers

Most of the peppers are sizing up nicely but the seedlings were looking a bit pale.  The seeding mix I use has macro & micro nutrients mixed in that should provide seedlings with all the nutrients they need for the first 6 or 7 weeks.  I love that because it's one less thing to worry about and, as it turns out, only a couple of the veg I grow (like the peppers) need any extra feeding as most are transplanted long before they are 6 weeks old.  As we are now in the 7th week, I have just started feeding the peppers with a diluted kelp fertilizer.  I think that next year, I should probably start feeding them one week sooner.

Peppers - 7 weeks
 

There were a couple of hiccups with some of the hot pepper varieties where the pre-germinated seeds did not come up once sown. 

Firstly there were the Ostra-Cyklon & Corne de Chevre.  One seedling each came up without any issues.  The 2nd ones seemed to be taking much too long.  I dug around in the soil and found one seed with no growth and there was no sign of the other seed - it had completely disappeared.  Perhaps I sowed several containers at one time and I missed that one by mistake?  So one each of the Ostra-Cyklon & Corne de Chevre had to be started over again; I also threw in a couple more seeds, just in case.  All of the seeds germinated and the seedlings are up and running.

Then there were those pesky Hungarian Hot Wax peppers that I had issues germinating both last year and this year.   I decided to grow 3 each of the Baker Creek (from last year) & William Dam (new this year) seeds to see if there is any difference in the actual plants and/or peppers.  The new batch I purchased from William Dam germinated with absolutely no issues, all 3 seeds that I needed germinating in 5 days vs. the Baker Creek batch which took from 9-20 days.

As of now, all of the William Dam seeds are well on their way (even though they were started 2 weeks later).  Unfortunately, I only have one Baker Creek seedling as 2 of the pre-germinated seeds didn't come up.  Once again I dug around in the soil.  One had a tiny bit of a stem (but no evidence of leaves), the other had no growth at all - another mystery.  It's much to late to start over at this point, so I will be using the extra Ostra-Cyklon peppers as replacements.


Parsley

I'm growing Gigante & Comune 2, both of which are Italian flat-leaf parsley varieties.  I only need 2 plants for my herb bed, plus one that I'm growing for my mom, so the plan was to thin each cell to one seedling.

Parsley - 4 weeks
 

Recently, however, my 9 year old son (who will be splitting a bed this year with his sister to grow whatever he pleases) has also decided that he wants one or two plants, as he is now in love with the chimichurri I made & froze last season.  So I have left a few extra seedlings in the cells.  I'm wondering if I should just leave them (I have often seen tiny cell packs at the nursery with 2 or even 3 parsley plants per cell) or if I should transplant them into individual cells.  My inclination is to leave them, especially as space under the grow lights will be in high demand once the tomatoes are started...is that next week already?


Sweet Potato

I have a few roots on my sweet potato plant & several sprouts as well...yay!

This is what the sprout looked like when I purchased the potato:

Baby Sprout - 5 weeks ago
 

And this is what it looks like today:

Teenage Sprout Today

You can see from the above photo that one of the sprouts is below the water line.  In fact, when I turn the potato over, there are a couple more, right next to the roots:

More Sprouts Growing Right Alongside Roots
 

I'm not sure what the story is with that but since I don't have a whole lot of roots (or sprouts) to start with, I've just left them & kept the water level the same.  I wouldn't want any of my roots dying off.


Flowers

The alyssum & petunias are still small, but coming along.

Alyssum (left) & Petunias (right) - 6 weeks
 

Newly sown

The past couple of weeks have been busy on the sowing front.  I have started eggplant, kohlrabi, basil, upland cress, lemon bee balm & marigolds.  I'll do a post on these new sowings soon.

Now I gotta go - I have some peas soaking in the basement.  Busy, busy, busy...I love this time of year.

Till next time...