Sunflowers are up! Potted into soil.

3 are up already, potted into soil now.

Exciting!!

(so yes, a very damp paper towel works with larger seed types)

Sunflower seeds started

Started some sunflower seeds in a paper towel (the seeds from the foil package).  Don't think I've ever tried to grow these before, or if I did, it wasn't successful.

Hope it works!  Experiments are fun :D

Potted some zinnias into the first bag of soil -- monitor for issues

Since I've almost run out of the reliable(-so-far) soil and my newly acquired bag of Pro Mix is so tiny, decided to use some of the first bag of soil again.  This is the blue bag, which all those broccoli look horrendous in and the one parsley and the celery leaves look mildly curled.

I still don't think it's thrips or other insects, but, just in case... I've put them on the top shelf all by themselves.

Indoor peas have appeared

Several of the indoor peas have started poking through.

One begonia has appeared!!!

Just as I was about to write them both off.  One has appeared.  The other hasn't yet.

Thinned lettuce and turnips

They were due for a thinning.

Still not confident they'll be harvestable before the zucchinis take over the bed, but, a fun experiment.

Sowed more peas - round 2 (forgot the inoculant!)

Another package of peas sown today.  Most into outdoor peat pots with outdoor soil.  Leftovers into the ground.

Completely forgot to add inoculant!  D'oh.

Seed-collecting experiment: Planted 5 of the fridge beets from last fall

Planted 5 cylindrical beets back into the ground today.  They were from last fall's harvest, spent the winter in the fridge and still looked good.  So let's see if we can get any beet seeds this year!

Peas sowed - round 1 - some in peat, some direct outside in ground

Soaked one package of seeds overnight.

Then today:

- filled two peat pots with indoor soil, with inoculant, placed inside
- filled one peat pot with outdoor soil, with inoculant, placed outside, up on chair
- put some directly in ground, southmost vertical area, south tip of there, east of the vertical structure (leaving room for squash to go just west of there next to the wall), with inoculant
- put more directly in ground, just north of the others -- without inoculant

For the outdoor ground-sown ones, placed the two outside tables upside down to try to ward off seed-stealers... though they don't lie flat so I doubt this will work.

Started tomato "Scotia"

Forgot I had ordered these seeds along with the peas.  The arrived today, so went ahead and started these Scotia tomatoes, in paper towel.

A ton more zinnias have sprouted

And potted into soil.

Broccoli round 2 is a flop too!!!

What the heck!  Round 2 of broccoli is also looking like a flop.  The plants are just small, wimpy, and now even floppy.  The leaves don't have the speckled/browning of round 1, but, still very unwell.

Decided today to start hardening them off now.  Maybe inside is too warm for them.  Will see if they stand a chance...

Sprinkled some grass seed

To cover up some spots.  First sprinkled some soil, then the seeds, then sprinkled more soil but didn't make attempts to thoroughly cover anything.  (didn't dig the ground at all)

Some of the zinnias have sprouted; potted them

Only a few so far.   Carefully labeling each pot as I go. 

To hopefully avoid the ground cherry's problem, I mixed in some of last year's mushroom compost, and, did the vermiculate "well" at the top too.

Ground cherries having trouble breaking through in this soil mix; tomaotes doing fine

Uh oh -- The ground cherries are having trouble breaking through.  This soil mix seems rock hard for some reason even though it has a lot of vermiculite in it, and nothing else has struggled like this yet...  e.g. The tomatoes are doing fine.

So, I put a few of the paper towel left-overs into new pots with even more vermiculate added in, and, with a little vermiculate "well" at the top.

Asparagus have started appearing, including several nice sized spears

Several days ago noticed the asparagus have started appearing.  This is the year I get to make the first harvest, and it looks like there will be some nice sized spears!

Started hardening parsley, onions, chard, and broccoli

Started hardening the parsley, onions, chard, and broccoli.  As for the broccoli maybe how warm the computer room gets is part of their problem?

Will bring them in at night and leave them out during the day. 

Sure frees up a lot of space inside.

Garden prep day

- Sowed the beets
- Twined two of the vertical areas (need to buy more twine to do the cuke one)
- Arranged/tidied the fences, including the central patch
- Raked off the beds
- Admired the growing garlic, etc.

Garlic location a-ha

Silly me thinking squirrels had planted some garlic for me in my terra cotta planter...  re-reading my blog from last fall, I did that!

I'm also the one who put the two on the north side of the compost bin!

My memory sure is the pits!

Today found a clove next to the air conditioner which is surely from me dumping out the soil a few weeks ago after one of the planters broke (having forgotten I had put garlic into it).  Put that one into the remaining terra cotta planter -- and in so doing found the third one from last fall which doesn't seem to have done anything. I should dig around next to the air conditiner for the other two bulbs. 

Started round 1 beets outside

Same spot as last year.  Entire north foot sowed today, with 2 feet of cylindrical at 16/square (oops), and 2 feet of Detroit at 9/square.