Week 5 is now ~2 weeks ago so here in early April, I’ve got a lot of things growing and ready to go outside.
Here’s the last batch of what needs a head start.
Tomato
- Amish Paste
I added another four seedlings when it occurred to me that just one plant wouldn’t be enough to make a decent amount of sauce. So far, they’re all looking great and I’m excited to see how they do in our weird very sunny but otherwise barren backyard.
Cucumbers
- Spacemaster
- Marketmore 76
Along with the zucchini I’ve started, these guys germinated so well and are a little too ahead of schedule. But with the really great weather we’ve been having and above freezing temps, these guys will be ready for outside living in no time.
Butternut Squash
- Butterscotch F1 OG
I’m really happy to see these germinate as I didn’t have any success with growing them in Rhode Island before we moved. If all four of the seedlings do well this year we’re going to turn orange from eating the pounds of squash that seem to be in our future~
Chard
- Yellow
- Bright Lights
I love chard. Seriously, I love how colorful they are and how big their leaves can get. Potato also enjoys eating them at her leisure in the yard so the more come up, the better. I will be direct sowing more once it gets warmer but I’m interested to see how the transplants do.
Zucchini
- Raven F1
This guy. Only half of my seeds have germinated so far but I’m a little worried about the zucchini output if they all come up. I started these a couple of weeks early thinking A) they won’t grow like weeds in that time and, B) it’s cold again and there’s been a little snow here and there, they need the time to grow. Just kidding, these two seedlings alone are monsters and I fully expect to be overdosing from Zucchini in a few months.
As for the other seeds that have been chugging along since late February, everyone seems to be happy as clams. The kale and cauliflower from weeks 2-4 were outgrowing their little containers so they needed to be repotted. Thankfully, none of them succumbed to stress and are chugging along. They’ll probably be part of the first set that gets moved outside in the next couple of weeks. My sweet and hot peppers are at odds a bit as the sweet ones are thriving while the hot ones are a little more finicky. This may be a blessing as this year is strictly a container garden year and there’s only so much space on the deck.
My next task will be to begin hardening everyone off as we get further away from below freezing temps so here’s hoping we don’t get any New England-style snowstorms in April or May~