I had originally intended to start my seeds in egg cartons with potting soil. But, I did not think that it was worth my time. So, I bought four trays of peat pellets. This is my first time to start any seeds and I am truly on a learning curve here. You can click the photo to enlarge it.
Some things you need to know about my starts:
- The four long trays are peat pellets. They look like little discs when you buy them, but when you add warm water they grow into plump little planters. I think a tray of 72 pellets was about $6.
- The two middle trays are 3 weeks old, the outer two trays are 2 weeks old.
- I planted too many of everything... because I do not yet know the success rate of this method of planting.
- The three week old seedlings are nearing the time to be "hardened." That is the process of slowly acclimating the little guys to the outdoor world. This process will be done in a few weeks and will be ready to be transplanted into the warm, frost-free garden
- Plants are ready to be transplanted when they have between 4 and 8 real leaves (as opposed to the two cute seed leaves they begin with)
- The littlest planter at the top was a cheap $3 item from the local superstore. It has soil instead of just peat.
So far it looks like things are going according to the plan, but I will NOT consider it a failure if I end up having to buy starts from the local farm store in a few weeks. Every time you try and the results are not as you planned it is a learning experience. I learn best by doing... and sometimes by "failing."
The crops I am growing:
Bottom tray - Roma Tomatoes, Green Bell Peppers, Pepperoncini Peppers, and Jalapeno Peppers
Second tray up - Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes and Rutgers Tomatoes (this tray might produce 72 tomato plants! Some to give away if all goes well.)
Third tray up - 6 Eggplant, 3 spearmint, 9 asters (flowers), 12 cucumbers, 12 zucchini, 12 watermelon, 12 cantaloupe, 6 pie pumpkin (It was probably too early to start the pumpkin... we will be the only people around with pumpkins harvesting in July :0)
Top long tray - Marglobe tomatoes, 6 Lemon balm (herb), 12 basil (herb), 24 Nasturtium (flower - bought and planted by Nelson!), and 12 more aster
Little tray on top - Marigolds that did not come up and watermelon (planted by Rebecca)
I just love growing things!!!
- The four long trays are peat pellets. They look like little discs when you buy them, but when you add warm water they grow into plump little planters. I think a tray of 72 pellets was about $6.
- The two middle trays are 3 weeks old, the outer two trays are 2 weeks old.
- I planted too many of everything... because I do not yet know the success rate of this method of planting.
- The three week old seedlings are nearing the time to be "hardened." That is the process of slowly acclimating the little guys to the outdoor world. This process will be done in a few weeks and will be ready to be transplanted into the warm, frost-free garden
- Plants are ready to be transplanted when they have between 4 and 8 real leaves (as opposed to the two cute seed leaves they begin with)
- The littlest planter at the top was a cheap $3 item from the local superstore. It has soil instead of just peat.
So far it looks like things are going according to the plan, but I will NOT consider it a failure if I end up having to buy starts from the local farm store in a few weeks. Every time you try and the results are not as you planned it is a learning experience. I learn best by doing... and sometimes by "failing."
The crops I am growing:
Bottom tray - Roma Tomatoes, Green Bell Peppers, Pepperoncini Peppers, and Jalapeno Peppers
Second tray up - Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes and Rutgers Tomatoes (this tray might produce 72 tomato plants! Some to give away if all goes well.)
Third tray up - 6 Eggplant, 3 spearmint, 9 asters (flowers), 12 cucumbers, 12 zucchini, 12 watermelon, 12 cantaloupe, 6 pie pumpkin (It was probably too early to start the pumpkin... we will be the only people around with pumpkins harvesting in July :0)
Top long tray - Marglobe tomatoes, 6 Lemon balm (herb), 12 basil (herb), 24 Nasturtium (flower - bought and planted by Nelson!), and 12 more aster
Little tray on top - Marigolds that did not come up and watermelon (planted by Rebecca)
I just love growing things!!!
1 comment:
we had mixed results on starting from seed, no go on the tomato!
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