Here’s a quick update on my seed starting activities here in late March. It’s a busy season for me, and I am always babysitting lots of seedlings this time of year. I started parsley and petunia seeds back in early February, and they have all been potted up now into individual 3.5″ pots. I have moved both out to the greenhouse, since they can take somewhat cooler temperatures and my growing space indoors under the lights is rapidly filling up.
petunia seedlings
I started the spring brassicas in late February, and they have been thinned and are still hanging out in their 72 cell plug flats. They will stay in there until planting time, unless that gets delayed. I can grow healthy transplants that way, and it helps maximize my space. At planting time I prick them out with a widger, with minimal disturbance to the root systems. I have two flats of them, with broccoli, cabbage, kohlrabi, pac choi and mizuna growing in them. Weather permitting, I can get these planted out in the garden next month.
brassica seedlings
In the last couple of weeks I have started seeds for peppers first, and then for eggplant and tomatoes. The peppers are just now germinating, and the tomatoes should be up soon. All of these will eventually wind up in individual pots to let them size up before they are planted out.
peppers germinating
I started a few early eggplants about a month ago for growing in containers. This year I started seeds for Fairy Tale, Gretel and Patio Baby (all AAS Winners) that do quite well for me in containers. They should give us an early taste of eggplant while we wait for the later planted main garden crop to mature. I have now transplanted these into individual 3.5″ pots, and I hope to move them out to the greenhouse soon. They can be potted up into larger containers or grow bags as soon as the weather settles a bit and frost danger passes.
eggplant seedlings
I’ve also started slips for sweet potatoes. I root these in water, and when the sprouts get long enough I put them in water too until they form roots. Once the slips are rooted, I pot them up into individual containers until they can be planted outside, usually in late May or early June.
sweet potatoes rooting in water
That’s a look at my seed starting status so far. You can visit my Seed Starting and Planting Schedule to see more details about when I start and plant things here in our garden. I’ll be back soon with more happenings from Happy Acres!
