So, what's up?

I kept myself pretty busy with gardening this week.  So much is happening inside and outside the house now.  I will do a quick run-down on the seeds I have gotten in and what has sprouted so far.


Seeding


On 4/9 I seeded agastache, hollyhocks, petunias, impatiens, thunbergia, radicchio, and lettuce.  The hollyhock were up on 4/12, petunias on 4/14, radicchio 4/12, and thunbergia on 4/18.  The impatiens have also started sprouting but very spotty.  That does not make me happy.
On 4/7 I seeded some of the garden seeds. Flowering sweet peas and garden peas were both soaked 24 hours and then into the ground.  The garden peas are up as of 4/18, nothing with the flowering sweet peas yet.  I seeded more outdoors on 4/12, green onions, beets, Swiss chard, radishes.  The radishes were up by 4/18.
On 4/15 I seeded tomatoes, peppers, marigolds, asters, zinnia and nasturtiums. Tomatoes, marigolds, asters and zinnias were all up on 4/18.  
I have one more round of seeding this next week for indoor plants.  I will get the soybeans in the ground this next week along with some of the direct seeding of flowers.  I put the first round of cilantro seeds in the ground over the weekend.  Let's see if I remember to get a few seeds in every couple weeks this year.


Transplanting


This weekend I was able to transplant the earliest seeding from mid-March.  I started them before going on vacation and they had less than ideal germination without someone checking on them twice a day.  I do not hold this against my eldest as she did bring some of them through for me.  The viola germinated the best, and I was able to transplant 36 good seedlings.  Heliotrope came through with 6 plants.  We won't talk about the mammoth stock which are not living up to their name.  I also moved my coleus into larger pots so they can put on a little more growth before May garden time.

Transplanting viola seedlings

Misting in the seedlings

Transplanting coleus to larger containers

If you find a good misting head for your hose, it is a good investment for watering your new transplants.  They stand up to the watering better and are less likely to be washed out until they can put on enough growth to stand up to the regular watering heads.


Some things I have learned this spring...

• Wash all your pots and flats before winter.  It is so much easier to do this job outside than it is in the basement and it keeps the extra dirt outdoors and out of your drains.  I am finding out the hard way that I should have done this.  I have been using bleach and also some leftover pool sanitizers for this job.  Follow label recommendations for use.
• Make a seeding chart, even if it is simple.  I have done a much better job of keeping on task with seeding and transplanting because I had a schedule in my kitchen as a reminder.
• Think about numbers.  You may get 100 seeds in a pack, but if you only want 12 plants, seed only about twice that.  You will go through a lot less guilt over throwing out the ones you really don't need or cannot pass on to someone else.
• Save money on containers in several ways.  Buy containers at the end of the season when they are discounted.  I have saved many pots through the years.  I can't imagine how much I would have spent if I had to go out and purchase everything new.  Even cell packs can stand up to a few seasons of use if you treat them gently enough and clean them up for reuse.  Check with local greenhouses and nurseries if they have containers they are going to dispose of that you may be able to get for free.  Check the curbs in June.  Many people set this stuff out next to their trash in hopes that someone will come along and take it for reuse. 
• Salvage items from the curb for trellising your garden plants.  You never know what you will find for free.  Check out my pieces of orange snow fence that are going to trellis my garden peas.  I also have some curly willow stuck in the rows of sweet peas to add some interest and support.