Really Mother Nature, can't you be a bit more fair in the way you dispense your weather? I mean look at what you did to East Coast. What's up with burring those poor folks in over 3 feet of snow. And in the South. OMG. Tornadoes in February? Really. Were tornadoes and all of their destruction necessary?
Good Grief.
And here on the drought damaged plains of northern Colorado we get this:
Not even a decent skiff of snow.
Barely a dusting.
Inside the head gardener has assembled a grow light system for starting his seeds. He has used PVC pipe to assemble the stand.
He has hung a grow light only inches above the trays. We have always relied on sunlight from a window with not very good results.
He also added warming pads to stimulate root growth. Last year our tomatoes grew tall, leggy, weak, with little root system. So the lady at the nursery suggested heat pads to encourage rooting. We shall see.
He gives each plant a gentle soaking from a spray bottle. I prefer to water from the bottom up to get a good, thorough soaking, but not soggy.
Lights, Camera, Action.
24 tomatoes, 8 red cabbage, 8 green cabbage, 8 broccoli, 6 Anaheim peppers, 4 jalapenos, bell peppers: 2 red, 2 yellow, 2 orange, and 2 California wonders. And a few marigolds.
And now we wait for spring. I have been obsessively pinning flowers and gardening ideas on Pinterest. I have decided to attempt to grow ranunculus. I absolutely love them. Have any of you grown them? The garden centers here used to sell the bulbs, but I haven't seen any recently, so I am going to order them online. They need to be planted in early spring. I am beginning to wonder, though, if I should have started them inside earlier to give them a head start. But I think they are doable.
So the garden planning begins. I just wish Mother Nature would send us some moisture to help us along.
What garden plans are spinning around your head? We will keep each other company as we pass the time waiting for Winter make her exit, letting Spring make her entrance. Hope to see your garden plans soon.
Have a good week.
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It is too wet here to start anything outside, but when the greenhouse has warmed up we will be putting our seeds out.
ReplyDeleteSecond time around comment, so if you see a duplicate, you will know who it's from.
ReplyDeleteIt's all snow covered here, we are hoping for spring to come soon. I haven't started any seeds, it's too cold here, inside and out.
And yes I have a video, and photos of the eagles, they have now moved to our trees..a little too close for comfort.
Jen
I love your grow light system. I wish I could give you some of our snow ;)
ReplyDeleteA great idea to install grow lights. Here it is still too cold to start sowing in the greenhouse which is unheated. I think I put my tomatoseeds next week in the soil, in the warm conservatory for a start. I have grown Ranunculus before, but always in pots in the greenhouse. I ordered last week some more Dahlias, Freesias and Galtonias and was also thinking about Ranunculus, but this time I have chosen for other bulbs.
ReplyDeleteWish you a lot of success, it's fun growing your own vegetables and flowers.
I've started my tomato and pepper seeds and keep checking them to see if they've sprouted. :o) Mine are under grow lights on my kitchen counter. I had great success with my system last year and didn't use a heat mat but if they don't sprout in another week, I might add one. They're in a warm spot to begin with. I love your system!
ReplyDeleteI grew ranunculus when I lived in far upstate NY. I didn't do anything special aside from stick the corms in the soil. They were pretty but I moved before they really came into their prime.
You seem very organised with your seeds started. The name ranunculus doesn't drum up any picture of a flower for me, but I might recognise it if I saw it. I'll have to google ranunculus and have a look. (I just had a look; they are gorgeous flowers!).
ReplyDeleteNot that I wanted a blizzard, but I felt much the same. The drought we had last year could have been remedied with a few good snowfalls. But no such luck. A few inches here and there, but not nearly enough.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the grow light system. I used grow lights last year, and my plants did great. Hope I have the same luck this year. I've started a few peppers on the heat mats, several have sprouted. I'll do a few tomatoes today. I'm trying the winter sowing method as well. Hope you have success, I'll be following your progress.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the grow light system. I used grow lights last year, and my plants did great. Hope I have the same luck this year. I've started a few peppers on the heat mats, several have sprouted. I'll do a few tomatoes today. I'm trying the winter sowing method as well. Hope you have success, I'll be following your progress.
ReplyDelete