seedlings everywhere!

I knew it would get really hard to keep blogging during this time of year...and I was right. I am up to my eyeballs in seedlings and re-potting work (in addition to working 2 part-time jobs and trying to raise 2 kittens) Anyway, just wanted to pop on today to post the April and May "to do" lists and encourage all of you with seedlings to keep the lights just 2 inches above the plants, to avoid them getting "leggy" and it is time for a little fish emulsion fertilizer April: • This is the big month for planting vegetables, however if planted too early, frost will kill your plants unless you are prepared to protect them on those cold nights. • Stake tomatoes or provide cages to surround them. • Keep weeds under control by hoeing or cultivating. • Set out transplants of herbs. • Set out bedding plants. • Trim forsythias after they have bloomed to keep the bushes shapely. • Provide nutrients to fruit trees at the fruit setting time. May: • Set out tender plants once all danger of frost is past. • Keep seedbeds damp with shallow, frequent watering. • Pinch the growing points from the stems tips of mum plants when they get 3-4 inches. • Plant annuals among waning spring bulbs. • Mulch to conserve moisture and control weeds. • Control weeds while they are small. Keep growing!

Welcome March!

So much is happening and I'm so busy with it all that blogging is really taking second place. I put the heating cord in the standing lettuce table outside on the front porch and the lettuce has already popped up. Hope to post a picture soon. First round of peas planted in the garden. Lots going on inside: marigolds, petunias, pansies, all the cole crops are almost ready for the cold frame...snapdragons...and today will do all the peppers and tomatoes. The weather is great this week and I wish I could be outside all the time, alas, I still have to go to work. Okay, that's all I have time for today...except check out this site: Smart Gardener Looks like a great one!

Kittens preventing posts

Okay, sorry that I haven't posted lately....new kittens, Strider and Brego have been taking up my time.

But today I had to pass on this great website: www.sproutrobot.com Just enter your zipcode and you get a customized chart of what to plant and when to do it. It is too cool! I have a new playyard coming today for the kittens and then hopefully I can get back to gardening! The weather is getting warmer and I'm dying to get out to the garden. Welcome March! Lots to do this month: March: Plant cool season vegetables. Start warm season vegetable seeds for later transplanting (tomatoes and peppers). Plan for flower bed to provide summer color. Start summer flower seeds in flats. Dig and divide perennial flowers. Plant blueberries, strawberries and grapes. Mulch strawberries with pine straw as soon as they start blooming. Prune brambles to shoulder height and mulch. For a fuller list go to The Farmer's almanac Gardening Section

Seeds!

If any of you live near a Menard's their Burpee seeds (including the Organic ones) are 40% plus you get 11% of your total purchase back in an in-store credit. They also have some seeds for 10 cents....I stocked up on Alyssum because it is so good to grow under, around and near many plants. More about companion planting another day. Wanted to share another great idea for an inexpensive seed starting shelf set-up from the Organic Gardening website:

I'm making one of these to increase my seed-starting area, without taking up alot of floor space. I am going to experiment with using the heat cables vs. using some heating mats and also plan to line the shelves with reflective bubble insulation

Which Menard's also has cheaper than what I had already ordered online...it pays to shop around, but sometimes I get impatient. When we get ours set up, I'll post pictures. Meanwhile check out the seed-starting information at Organic Gardening They also have good articles on Seed Starting Simplified Starting Seeds Indoors Transplanting Starting from Seeds Blend Your Own Seed-Starting Mix

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well it's the middle of February and things are really starting up in the seed starting department! If you are going to start any of the following by seed, now is the time to do it:

Vincas

Impatiens

Petunias

I start my snapdragons now, although technically you have another week

You will need to put your coneflower seeds in the frig for 4 weeks before planting

So plant some flower seeds today, dream of spring and have some chocolate! The best way to treat a gloomy-looking February day!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Well he saw his shadow and we are supposed to have 6 more weeks of winter....and if it's a winter like we've already had it'll be fine. Started broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, buttercrunch lettuce, spinach and parsley in my aerogarden.

When the seedlings are 3-4 inches high, I will transplant into little newspaper pots that I make with another hand tool called the Potter Factory.

I like the way this pot maker works better than the little wooden one you've probably seen advertised. It give you more options on sizes and allows you to pour the soil into the pot much easier! Check it out at When I am transplanting seedlings from the aerogarden (which is a hydroponic system) into the paper pots, I fill them with seed starting mix. Coming out of the water, they need a soiless mix to begin in.

Last day of January

Look at that weather report! Forecasting 60 as a high today. My daffodils are already poking way up - I hope my crocuses don't start blooming! And then we are supposed to have really cold weather in a few weeks. But it is starting to seem like we didn't even have a winter. So, did you get your January tasks done? If not, just keep working on them and add the February list now too: * Prune trees and shrubs, both ornamentals and fruit * Replace mulch as needed * Check outside plants and trees for animal damage * Cut some branches for forcing indoors * Rejuvenate holly bushes with a hard pruning * Check evergreens for sign of desiccation * Start seeds of cool season vegetables and flowers Two recommendations today: "Month by Month Gardening in Ohio" by Denny McKeown and Tom Smith

And a great little chart that I use all year long. This is so well laid out and inexpensive also: Clyde's Garden Planner

Okay, enough computer for today, I'm heading outside to enjoy this weather!