Transplanting Seedlings

Transplanting seedlings is not my favorite task. Especially when all the seedlings were sown in a communal pot. Some seeds are so tiny that this is the only way to sow seeds like petunia, foxgloves, snapdragons, and many others unless you buy pelleted seed. The only way for a novice home gardener like myself. I've only just become bold enough to try to perfect my technique. What have I learned from sowing seeds this way? Leave them along once planted. Water from the bottom to prevent displacing seeds or seedlings once sown. Provide light and the correct temperature and watch them grow. Don't be tempted to transplant them too soon because they're fragile. Fertilize with a weak solution when watering. I use Miracle Grow and this season Super Thrive which has vitamins and kelp. I transplanted mine by chunks. Will this work? This is yet to be determined. Petunias are hardy and can be transplanted in individual pots. I only have about 4 germinate and they're tiny.

Other than herbs and veggies I'm done except for hyacinth bean vine, blacked Susan vine, nasturtiums, and verbascum. All in communal pots so they won't take up much space. I hope your seedlings are doing well. Almost spring.

My worst nightmare. I waited as long as I could to separate. 

Foxgloves

Up under the light.

They look better than the snapdragons.

 Snapdragons

Time to clean off the bottom rack of the seed shelf for more seedlings and I need at least 3 more shop lights. Not today though. My daughter just came in from shopping. She said trees are down blocking streets throughout the neighborhood. Two of my family members had no electric due to the storm until morning. We live in the same neighborhood but our street had electric thank God.

Sad looking geraniums, petunia, and echinacea. Hopefully they'll perk up.

I save my seed trays from flats that I buy and reuse them. Saves me from buying more.

Coleus seedlings that were put into a communal container but they obviously didn't want to die and have grown. I lost very few seedlings no matter how tiny.

I have a dome over the foxgloves but it has large vents for air.

Wish I had started more vinca but waited too late. Next year maybe I'll try to sow enough so I don't have to buy any for my containers. That would be a lot of vinca.

I like the dark ones. Hopefully a few of them will survive. There should also be some yellow colored ones that I tried last year but didn't get any. There may be at least one yellow one in the tray.

Summer Showers Ivy Leaf Geraniums (pelargoniums)

My geraniums have never been this small in March.

Going to have to separate them.

Now that I've finished that I can sit and read my seed catalogue's that came in the mail today. Yes, you can roast a marsh mellow. I've lived here many years and I actually have never roasted one in the fire place. That sounds like a plan. I have roasted potatoes. They are so creamy cooked in the coals.

And Off We Go

Thought crocus would emerge first in the containers planted on the porch, but the iris said, "it's time." Although spring hasn't arrived bulbs planted in the yard emerged weeks ago which is very early for them especially tulips. Crocus and narcissus are usually the first to emerge and bloom in my region. Today is the first day for the Philadelphia Flower Show. I woke up at 6:30 and heard whistling winds and didn't want to be injured by snow bombs falling from the trees from yesterday's and today's nor' Easter so I won't be going to the show today. This would have been a good day because the weather probably kept many people at home. I'll miss P. Allen Smith's presentation today and one on native plants. It was a bad day traveling home from work with gusting winds and snow falling sideways making almost white out conditions. Many tree limbs snapped off under the heavy weight of the snow and I saw many spin outs and cars along the side of the road from accidents including a bus while I slowly drove home.

The snow was wet and heavy but painted a fairy tale picture blanketing trees and surfaces. Yes I wanted to take pictures but it would have been hard to do in a blizzard with snow blowing every where. It was the kind of snow that people with heart problems shouldn't be shoveling. It was heavy.  Plan for tomorrow, the Flower Show! Today, transplant foxglove and snapdragon seedlings and maybe get around to sowing vegetable and herb seeds. As always, house chores, laundry, change sheets on bed, light house cleaning, and it would be a good day to bake something sweet. Maybe that's not a good idea. I'm working on my weight and have stalled for 2 weeks. Finally this week the scale has started to move downward again. Yeah! What did I do different this week. Some light exercise and a gym membership. No outrageous exercise the first day only the treadmill and learning how their bike works. My knees didn't cooperate with the bike but it will eventually. Maybe the pool would be better for arthritis in my knees but so far the classes are at a time I can't attend. But I can still swim and walk in the pool.

Crocus I think. The other pots with bulbs on the porch haven't emerged, soon. I still have 60 tulip bulbs I din't plant. They're still firm maybe I can get around to planting them today. Can't let them go to waste.

Sowing Pelargonium Summer Showers

Ordered 2 packs but only sowed one. The first were delivered according to a delivery confirmation from UPS. But I have a mail slot that the seeds could fit through so they weren't delivered to my house. I guess a neighbor will enjoy them,  Burpee promptly sent out replacement seeds.  Showers are ivy leaf geraniums. Although we us the word geraniums they're pelargoniums. The hardy perennial ones are geraniums. Thankful my tickets arrived for the flower show. P. Allen Smith will be doing a class and I hope to be able to participate if I can get close enough.

Onto the seed shelf. Heat mat off for this season although I haven't cleaned and rolled it away.

Going to start, lettuce, kale, peppers, tomatoes, basil, broccoli, and basil next. Also going to try mustard greens which I've never tried. I won't transplant them until I order a new raised planted from Gardener's Supply. I've been looking at them for a couple of years. Gardeners Supply has a nice template tool to use for square foot gardening that lets you know how many starts go in each foot. This year I'll actually try to follow the diagram I printed out. They planter is six feet long by 2 feet in diameter. So I'll have 12 1 feet squares to grow in.

Hope these can produce in the yard. The shade in my yard is getting less and less due to the tree canopy. I didn't get the trees cut hanging over my yard this fall. Maybe after the trees leaf out.

Supposedly small romaine heads.

I've grown this in the yard before and it does well.

Normally grown the red, yellow, and orange chard but I'll try this one now.

The heirloom pepper is supposedly good for containers and Waltham broccoli is a good variety for my region 7a.

I've never had success with nasturtium although I soak and nick the seed..

My cat keeps eating my house plant so it's time to start some cat grass for him because I do have plants that are poisonous to pets although they're hanging and she can't get to them.

For my vegetables and herbs. Hopefully I get to them tomorrow.

I use this on my seedlings and they enjoyed it and all look more happy since watering them with it.

Those are the black velvet geraniums I started on coffee filters. Only 1/2 germinated so 50% of old seeds germinated. They look strange. As soon as the true leaves emerge I'll transplant them into pots deeper. Coleus seedlings saved. I usually don't throw anything out. They were the tiniest ones left but as you see they've grown.

Pink geraniums that were started on coffee filters. Four of 5 germinated.

I'm so pleased with my foxgloves.

Really going to try to get the other foxglove seedling transplanted tomorrow and  the snapdragons below.

They look a little more fragile. We shall see.