Under the Grow Lights
The number of plants under my grow light keeps getting bigger and bigger. I think I have around 600 plants – YIKES!!!
Some of these will go to a friend for her garden, most of them will go into my garden as it thaws. Many of them will be planted in the next few weeks and eaten next month. I must say, I LOVE this big grow light. I can’t believe I ever started seeds without it. It’s well worth the investment if you grow lots of plants from seeds under light!
What’s under your grow light?
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Leaving the Nest
The little lettuce seedlings I planted in the low tunnel last week are doing great, they survived those single digit nights with flying colors. Since they did so well, I started hardening off two flats of greens that are ready to go into the tunnel and into the potager.
It’s nice that the weather is finally decent enough for these guys to leave the nest, I’ve got more flats that need to be seeded and put under the lights. In a few weeks these lettuces will be ready to harvest and eat, gotta love having homegrown goodness on my plant in mid-March in Maine!
What are you doing in the garden this week?
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Planting in the Low Tunnel
This past Sunday we had a beautiful day, highs near fifty and sunny. Perfect for working in the garden, only the ground is still frozen. The soil in the low tunnel is thawed and workable, in fact the spinach in there is starting to grow new leaves. I have lettuce seedlings under the grow light that can be planted outside any day now, I’ve just been waiting for the weather to be above the single digits at night. I finally broke down and ordered a four pack of these probe thermometers, one will be put in the low tunnel so I can monitor the temperatures in there during the day and at night. I’ll use one under my grow lights too so I know the ambient temperature there as well.
I decided to take a few of each and plant in the low tunnel. We have a night that’s supposed to be 3 degrees, tomorrow evening – brrr. I decided it was worth planting a few seedlings out to see how they survive that kind of a night. That will give me a good idea of the weather inside the low tunnel. I’m thinking about giving them an additional layer of protection on that night, perhaps a milk jug or even another layer of frost blanket. I also seeded some arugula and cilantro in there.
I transplanted a few spinach seedlings as well, we’ll se how all this stuff does on that one frigid night. If it does well I’ll be filling the low tunnel with other lettuces and greens. We shouldn’t really have any more of those. Soon enough I’ll have enough garden chores to keep me busy on beautiful days, I can hardly wait!
What are you planting this week?
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I Spy…
On Sunday, I was checking the soil and spinach plants in the low tunnel and spotted a ‘Bowles Black’ violet blooming in there. What a wonderful sight it was!
I love having plants like Johnny’s jump ups and violets in my potager because they tell when I can do certain things. When I see them blooming I know that I can start planting and seeding spinach, arugula, cilantro, and other cold tolerant crops and they will germinate. The violets in the rest of the potager are nowhere to be seen, it will be a few weeks before they show their faces. Thanks to this beauty, I know it’s time to transplant some of the lettuce seedlings I have under grow lights into the low tunnel.
Do you have any plants that are signals for you?
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Black Pussy Willow
My black pussy willow is finally starting to get big enough to notice. This plant came to me through a plant swap at the library when we lived in Ohio. It was only a few inches all. After having been moved three times in the past five years, it took it a while to bounce back. This plant will be a stunner when it’s mature, a show stopper in the garden for sure. It does not reside in its final resting place, I have it in a nursery bed at the moment. I’m trying to decide exactly where to put it, perhaps this summer it will finally find a place where it can settle in.
Last year I noticed one tiny branch with a few little blooms, his year there are around twenty. It’s still small, only three feet tall or so, but I’m going to prune it back and root the cuttings. It will need pruned so that it develops better shape and I’d like to root cuttings for my garden and to give to friends. I love plants with history, I love that gardeners swap plants, I love taking starts of plants given to me to give to others, I love that gardeners share a love of sharing plants. Gift on gardening friends, I challenge you to take starts of at least one plant this spring to pass along to other gardeners, both new and old.
