This was a very big job that we've been putting off. How encouraged we were to see The Gardener of Eden up to her own elbows in the same work yesterday. Robin is fast becoming our garden muse!
We planted Columbine, Zinnia and Daisy perennials and several annuals for May. You're looking at 2' trays set in oven tins (free ones... Thanks Alfred!) under the lights.
We transplanted 50 tomato plants from 2 inch trays into various sized pots, whatever we could find. We have tomatillo, cherry, roma, beefstake and grape tomato plants ranging 3' to 6'.
The "spring" in springgardenacre is named for Spring Road. It's our street and a relatively busy road that affords lots of gardening and produce shoppers. Our plants are generic, the standard grocery store varieties, because we're selling them. We've learned that people who buy roadside, aren't all that interested in "black tomatoes". Maybe they think they carry the plague.
We ran out of light space, so I desperately threw together the system you see below. Unfortunately, a cold basement floor was our only space. I may need to buy heat mats to keep the plants happy. On the other hand, slowing down their growth and acclimating them to colder temps could be a good thing.
The final shot speaks for itself! It's part of our morning routine before papa goes off to work.
I do have to admit most of PA is the LEAST adventurous when it comes to fruits and vegetable. Especially my side of the state. Not sure why that is.
ReplyDeleteI totally feel your pain with the tomato transplanting. My tomatoes are out of control. I have 45, and have never started this many before. I went out and picked up a package of those red party cups to put them all in... They seem pretty happy in those. I will be happy when they are outside!
ReplyDeleteThat's too funny that we both repotted our tomatoes on the same.
ReplyDeleteHow great that you live on a busy road where you can sell your plants and veggies. I will sell any extra plants at the flea market.
It's so great that the boys are learning how to tend to the plants!
Your seedlings look really healthy! It must be really great for your kids to learn to grow vegetables at such a young age. I wish I had a gardening family while growing up, but since I didn't, I just have a lot of catching up to do. :)
ReplyDeleteJane -I'm not sure why either. I do think that grocery stores buy from producers who grow food for the purpose of transport and longevity. Gardeners have a completely different motive. To use the title of one of Wendel Berry's books, we're "Bringing it to the table". If only I could train the people who stop by our stand to know what they're missing. For now, the black tomatoes will have to stay in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteTiny Gardener -It's funny you mention those red plastic cups. We do a lot of hosting in our home and use them all the time. I was planning to transplant into them, but we were out. That's probably for the best. The pots they're in are big enough that I won't have to transplant again
Robin -We're so thankful for that road. We had no idea of its potential until a couple of summers ago, when we were flooded with peaches. I set a few peaches out by the road with a box for change; about a month later we had a jar full of unexpected money!
thyme2garden -Thanks! You've begun an incredible tradition that I pray last for generations.