It’s March Madness time again here at Happy Acres. And no, I’m not talking about basketball. Every year about this time things get crazy with seed starting and plant growing. Which is not a bad thing, if you enjoy growing things as much as I do. And there are lots of things growing around here for sure!
kohlrabi seedlings
Right about now the plant shelves are bulging with early crops that have been potted up into larger containers, things like broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, and some Asian greens. And at the same time, seeds of warm season crops like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are sprouting. They are mostly in 200 and 288 cell plug flats at the moment, which lets me start a lot of seedlings in a small space. But when they get transplanted into bigger quarters in a couple of weeks, it will truly get crazy here! Trying to find room for all those plants is about as tough as getting tickets for the Final Four. Thank goodness I have a lot of shelf space in the greenhouse.
tomato seed germinating
Speaking of greenhouses, last week I talked about using my mini-greenhouses for starting seeds that needs some extra TLC. I am happy to report that my 2009 Hot Happy Yummy seeds are still viable and sprouting for me. I don’t know the final germination rate yet because seeds are still coming up, but as long as I have several plants to grow I will be happy. So far 85% have come up, which is amazing to me. I also started Happy Yummy seeds from 2011 and 2012. I am still trying to get stable strains of both the hot and sweet versions, and maybe this will be the year. Also, all of the tomato seeds I got from Jeanne are coming up, so it looks like the TLC worked wonders!
2009 Hot Happy Yummy seeds coming up
And speaking of March madness, yesterday we were under a winter weather advisory for snow and a ‘wintry mix’. This was after a Saturday that featured near shorts weather with temps around 65°F. Fortunately it stayed warm enough yesterday that all we got was rain. So far this year we have been blessed with almost 12 inches of water equivalent precipitation, which has sure helped to replenish the soil after last year’s drought.
tomatoes germinating in 200 cell plug flat
The weeks ahead will find me babysitting lots of seedlings, watching them grow, and hopefully keeping them alive and thriving. I’ve done it for as long as I can remember, so this madness is nothing new. To echo one of my favorite musical works of all time, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, you could say “I’ve always been mad.” And no one who knows me well would argue much with that!
I’ll be back soon with more craziness from here at HA. Until then, Happy Growing, and remember to take time to ‘Breathe in the air’!
Your kohlrabi seedlings look nice and healthy. I had some coming along but unfortunately they were all eaten and I have to start again. I’m going to try it as a winter crop here this year.
With your moderate winters (compared to ours) I would think kohlrabi would do well for you. We had some nice ones last fall at the Impact Community Garden, while mine at home got eaten by rabbits.
We were so happy with the Happy Yummy from last year. I had a few seeds left over and I’m going to plant them again. I’ll save this year’s seeds.
I’m glad you enjoyed them Sharon!
So nice to see green sprouting. I am glad to hear the Hot Happy Yummy Peppers seeds are still viable. I hope they grow into healthy seedlings so the tradition can continue.
My garden is still covered with snow and we are expecting another winter storm tomorrow that may leave 6-12 inches on top. I am a little behind in my seed starting schedule, but hopefully will catch up this week.
That is probably the stormed that missed us. I hope you see some green soon!
I too am impressed with your kohlrabi seedlings. That sure is a lot of tomato seedlings, you are going to be very, very busy potting up. Compare to last year, I am way behind, but then again, we had unusually warm winter and spring last year.
Thanks Norma, and you are right, I will be busy.
Everything looks so happy and healthy 🙂 We have lots of seedlings gorwing under the grow lights, but don’t have a greenhouse, so we do a lot of shuffling as spring marches on. A bit exhausting, yes…but so very worth it in the end!
My March madness won’t start really until next week. I’ll be starting the major spring vegetables then. I’ve already started a small bit for early on, but it is risky to plant out too early here, so the main stuff gets put in later. I’m shooting for planting in mid April and having three weeks of growth on my seedlings.