Odds and Sods

In late March/early April I sowed a number of seeds for various plants that I haven’t spoken about yet, so figured I had better get to it before I’m showing off flowers or harvesting veg and everyone is wondering – “where did that come from?” ;)

In addition to the alyssum & petunias that I have already talked about, I have also sown marigolds, daisies & lemon bee balm.

The marigolds are the same as those I grew last year, a variety called Janie Flame from Stokes Seeds.

Marigold Seedlings - 5 weeks
 

I was super happy with the way they livened up the beds and if they helped with pests, so much the better!

Marigolds in last years tomato bed
 

The daisies are a variety called “Alaska” and that is about all I know.  My daughter received the seed packet as part of a loot bag from a birthday party.  I sowed some seeds in a 4” pot and they are now, more or less on their way - there is quite a size difference between the seedlings.  These will be going into my daughters bed as she wants to grow at least as many flowers as veg.

Daisy Seedlings - 3 weeks
 

The lemon bee balm (monarda citriodora) purchased from Baker Creek is for my straw bales; the plan is to plant one alyssum & one lemon bee balm seedling into each bale in an effort to attract pollinators to the squash that will be growing in them.   Since I wanted an annual, I chose lemon bee balm for this task instead of the perennial scarlet bee balm (mondarda didyma).

Lemon Bee Balm - 3.5 weeks
 

As many of you may be aware, I had issues with Basil Downy Mildew last year.  This year I purchased a variety from William Dam that is supposed to be resistant – Eleonora.

Eleonora Basil - 3.5 weeks
 

In addition, I'm also growing Thai basil.  It was infected last year as well, but not until much later than the regular basil, so it seems to have at least some resistance and I’m fairly certain that the seeds themselves are not infected.

Thai Basil - 3.5 weeks
 

I also started some kohlrabi – Early White Vienna (55-60 days) – which is a repeat from last year.

Early White Vienna kohlrabi in last years garden
 

I purchased a new kohlrabi variety to try this year as well – Kolibri (43 days, Pinetree).

Photo Source:  Pinetree
 

Isn't it gorgeous?  And it's not just it's good looks that attracted me to this variety, but also the fact that it can get fairly large without going woody.

I was originally going to give the kohlrabi a few squares, but then ended up having space issues in the brassica beds - there are just too many Chinese green varieties to try!  Since kolhrabi is more of a "little something extra" for me, rather than a main crop, I decided to reduce it's space to one 12" square - not a lot, but I'll be squeezing 4 seedlings into that space (I did have 5 but one didn't make it).

I'm growing the Early Vienna in the spring and then will replace that with the Kolibri over the summer as it is supposed to be heat tolerant.

Kohlrabi Seedling - 3.5 weeks
 

You'll notice the kohlrabi are already planted outside - these were the only starts due to be transplanted out this past week and I really didn't want to do the endless days of hardening off for 4 seedlings, so I cheated.  I planted the seedlings and then shaded them with a folded up bit of Agribon; each day, I removed the covering for longer periods of time.  The temperatures have been moderate (10-20C/50-68F) and even the nights have not been that cold, so I'm hoping they will be fine.

And lastly, I sowed several cells of Upland cress that I purchased from William Dam.  Each year, I seem to have at least one packet of seeds that gives me nothing, and this year, the upland cress was it.  I waited and waited and, after a couple of weeks, I still had no germination.

I asked Mark for some advice (the cress in his garden inspired me to give it a try this year) and he suggested that I keep this one going – as many factors can influence the rate at which seeds germinate – but also start a fresh batch.

Well, that first round sat there for a couple more weeks and nada - so that one is now gone.  For the second go-round, I decided to try sprouting the seeds first.  Quite a few of the seeds sprouted and I sowed them very shallowly into a cell pack.  A few fragile looking stems are now coming out of the soil.

Upland Cress Seedling
4 days after sowing sprouted seeds
 

The seeds are tiny and seeing how fragile the seedlings are, I have a feeling that I sowed the seed too deeply the first time round.  You know how I've said that sometimes, it's not what you've done, but simply a case of bad seed.  Well, this time, the fault clearly lay with me.

Till next time...