Let the Gardening Season Begin!
Although this winter hasn't been as brutally cold and snowy as others we've had, I'm still itching to get out in the garden. I'm an impatient gardener who has had enough of winter. As I write this, it's a beautiful sunny day, but it's 27 degrees (F) outside with a "Real Feel" temperature of 14 degrees (F) and wind gusts are expected to be up to 40 MPH today. The garden will have to wait.
Luckily, I can still get started with gardening now with my seedlings. Late February/Early March is a great time to start seeds indoors for planting as transplants in the garden in late April/Early May. I'm amazed by the process of plant growth. I started my first batch of seedlings on February 19th and when I started my second batch 6 days later, many had started to sprout already. In fact, in the 2 hours I was out there, seedlings that hadn't been there at the beginning of those 2 hours popped their heads out of the soil by the end. It's really encouraging.
If you have any ambitions of starting seeds ahead of the gardening season, now is the time to start. As I wrote about in 5 Steps for Starting Seeds Indoors, some seeds shouldn't be sown directly in the ground, like tomatoes. They don't like sustained temperatures under 50 degrees (F), so it's too risky to plant them from seed outdoors this time of year. Start them indoors and they'll be ready for planting in spring. (But be sure to read the posts linked below...you can't just put seedlings by a windowsill and expect them all to do well....)
This is what I'm starting by seed indoors this year:
Eggplant:
Black King
Calliope
Black Beauty
Tomatoes:
Jersey Devil
Plum Regal
Martha Washington
Marbonne
Big Beef
Cherokee Purple (Heirloom)
Black Krim (Heirloom)
Supersweet 100s
Zucchini
Cucumbers:
Olympian
Bush
Broccoli Green Gold
Herbs:
Organo Greek Organic
Parsley Dark Green Italian
Thyme Common
Basil Genovese
Dill
Sage
If you've been following my blog at all, you might be thinking, "Where the heck is she going to fit all of those plants? Her yard is the size of a postage stamp." As much as I know I can fit a lot of plants back there, (I grew 70 pounds of fresh organic produce last season!), I plan to do the plant sale again this year. Last year was a blast. I had so much fun meeting other gardeners.
If you're local to NJ, stop by the South Orange Middle School on April 23, 2017 and pick up some Wine Box Garden plants for your garden!
If you'd like to start seeds indoors, be sure to check out my tips and advice:
Here's another quick tip that I'm trying this year to prevent/treat "Damping Off" of seedlings -- Cinnamon. Cinnamon has anti-fungal properties. I've used it in garden beds that have attracted fungus. It's good stuff....and organic.
Cinnamon sprinkled on my broccoli and cucumber seedlings.
Have questions? Post them in the comments or send me an email!
