Started hardening the hardies

Putting them out in the shade for a few hours in the warmer part of the day, then back under lights.  (Only on days that are ~+5 or warmer.)

GAGA plot granted!!!!!!!!! OMG OMG OMG

OMG!  This happened way sooner than I had anticipated!  Getting a plot this year!!!  It will be a temporary plot, then next year it's expected I'll get my own actual plot.

What in HOLY HECK am I going to do with 1000 square feet!!!  I foresee many donations to the local food bank if all goes/grows well!

It comes at the perfect time though, with my backyard about to be torn up this year for foundation work.  Even the untouched parts of the backyard garden will likely be decimated by the groundhogs when the fence comes down for the foundation stuff.

So, yay!

But equally, eek!!!  

:-)

Started lettuce: Romaine and Ruby (not doing BSS this year)

^^^

Started more peppers, and chard, forget-me-nots, and coreopsis

The forget-me-nots are from the prime seed collected in 2023.

The coreopsis are from my collected seed from 2023.

The peppers are Early California (typical green bell peppers) and Hungarian something or other, both new to me this year.

The chard is of course the good old Fordhook.

Kale started in PT (only one kind: Vates Blue Curled ie the dwarf variety that was great last year)

^^^

Bought big bag of mrp

Yikes!!  $170 + tax at R's.  This is my second bag of this stuff -- still have some left over, so won't actually open this bag until needed.

Hot peppers started today: Witch's Stick (started only 3 seeds)

^^^

Stevia round 2 started today bec most of round 1 shriveled after putting into soil

^^^

Bought more organic alfalfa pellets

 A nice big bag for only $38 all in!

Stevia started in PT

Used up the rest of the seeds from last year.

Trimming onions (new this year)

 This year I'm trimming the onion tops to see if that helps them bulb up at all.  So, once they get two leaves, trimming occasionally.

Broccoli all germinated -- and so fast!

^^^

The Great Seed Giveway

Finally got around to purging the seed collection by giving a bunch away to the local buy nothing group.

These were given away:

Basil: Genovese - two packs available (commercial)

Basil: Thai (home-collected)

Bok choy: Bietola (commercial) I find it bolted to seed quickly

Bok choy: unknown variety (home-collected) I find it bolted to seed quickly

Broccoli: Waltham (commercial)

Broccoli: Green Sprouting (commercial)

Carrots: Touchon (commercial)

Carrots: Nantes Scarlet (commercial)

Kale: Premier Forage (commercial)

Kale: Siberian (commercial)

Kale: White Russian (commercial)

Lettuce: Black-seeded Simpson (home-collected)

Lettuce: Tom Thumb Butterhead (commercial)

Malabar spinach: Green Vine - 4 seeds left - can be tricky to grow (commercial)

Parsley: Single Hardy Italian (commercial)

Rosemary: Unnamed variety (commercial)

Swiss Chard: Barese (commercial) - this is a dwarf variety bought last year - very similar to bok choy - I found it bolted to seed very quickly

Tomato: Sweetie - cherry variety (commercial)

Tomato: Rainbow Blend (commercial)

Tomato: miscellaneous cherry variety (home-collected)

Tomato: miscellaneous large variety (home-collected)

Tomato: miscellaneous medium variety (home-collected)

Zucchini: Golden - 3 seeds left (commercial)

Zucchini: Golden Rush - 7 seeds left (commercial)

Zucchini: Ronde de Nice (round) - 4 seeds left (commercial)

Flowers:

Marigold (home-collected)

Nasturtium: Peach Melba (commercial)

Poppy: Oriental Scarlet (home-collected)

Poppy: Oriental Scarlet (commercial)

Poppy: Flanders Field (commercial)

Purple coneflower (home-collected)

Sunflower: Mammoth (commercial)

Sunflower: Mammoth (home-collected)

Sunflower: Evening Sun (commercial)

Sunflower: miscellaneous (home-collected)

These are still left over as of when I'm writing this:

Flowers:

Bidens (home-collected)

Black-eyed Susan (home-collected)

Forget-me-not: cynoglossum amabile -- the flowers are fully blue with a blue centre (not the yellow-center variety) (home-collected) -- I love these and grow them every year from home-collected seed, have lots of seeds so would love to share

Hollyhock (home-collected)

Lupin (home-collected)

Wild evening primrose (home-collected

Onions round 3

Because a relatively high proportion of them seem to be flopping once put into the mix.

Celery, parsley, broccoli (piracicaba) started in PT

^^^

Onions round 2

Started more bec I didn't start enough in round 1.  Still all from the same commercial packet I bought recently.

Wakey wakey, tuberous begonia!

^^^

Prepared the soilless mix -- and bought new bag of seaweed meal from R's at fraction the price of Gaia

 Prepared the soilless mix yesterday -- with ZERO of the leftover promix.

So, it contains only:

- peat moss

- vermiculite

- perlite

- kelp meal

- azomite

- mrp

- alfalfa pellets

- lime

- myke (actually not yet added, bought some today and will add it in before using)

And, since my kelp meal is starting to run low, bought some more from Ritchie's.  The guy at the counter said either I can buy Gaia and pay over $200 for 20 kg, or I can buy a different brand that's marketed for horse feed, and pay $95 for 25 kg.  !!!!  So I went for the horse feed -- made by Acadian Seaplants Limited.  I emailed them tonight just to confirm whether it's kelp or some other type of seaweed, so, we'll see.

Onions started in PT -- "Frontier", to try for bulbs as well as scallions

Bought these seeds from Ritchie's, "Frontier", a hybrid said to be good for short seasons and a bulb that's good for storage -- at least, based on the packet.

Will only do this type of onion this year, none of my pre-existing seeds, just to keep things simple.

Yes, DO freeze blanched green/yellow beans again -- they steam up fine

^^^