After the hard freeze we were hit with yesterday morning, it's beginning to look really promising for an April 25th. planting date for the warm season plants. That means I need to start hardening them off right away!
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I'll soon be planting all the seedlings that are on the right (glass) table, and giving away all of those on the left and under the card table. You can see I'm not planting so many tomatoes this year, but I am going to buy a 4-pack from the nursery as soon as they get the variety in that I want. There are 37 pepper plants that I am for sure going to find room for. If I have enough space, I may plant a few from the "give away" table. I have 8 cherry tomatoes on my table, and that might be cut back to planting just 4 of them. So far I have 8 regular tomatoes, but plan on ending up with 12......a lot fewer than previous years! There are 7 basil plants, 1 Arp rosemary and a bunch of cosmos.
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As soon as Mr. Granny wakes up from his nap (he gets really tired from watching The Price is Right, LOL), I'll get the frame built for the garden cart. I can't get the battery off of the power screw driver so I can put on a fresh one. I'll put as many of the seedlings as I can get into the cart, and have clear plastic on hand to cover them if the weather turns too stormy. At night I can just wheel the cart into the garden shed. A week of pushing them in and out should harden them sufficiently to plant them out.
While waiting for Mr. Granny, I dug a few new garden beds. There is a small 2'x6' at the back (in front of the gate) for future carrots, and two 4'x6' beds on the right, the first of several for future corn. Between the corn beds and the red string is a path, and there is another path along the right side fence. To the left of the red string, all along that fence line, will be where the peppers are planted. The neighbor cleaned up her side of the fence last fall, and planted a couple of rhodies. Now it is just solid with milkweed again, even worse than last year :-(
Wow you will get 80s next week and we will get back in the 50s. We even have one day in the 40s predicted. I just hope the storm that comes in on Friday evening brings some rain. We could sure use it.
ReplyDeleteDaphne, our weather has just run completely opposite of each other, hasn't it? When yours is hot, mine is cold. When mine warms up, yours cools down!
DeleteBoy Granny, your starts look absolutely wonderful! "The Italian" gets tired watching Star Trek while eating his lunch :) Too bad about your neighbor. I know how discouraging that can be.
ReplyDeleteRobin, the peppers are actually beginning to form buds! I don't dare plant them for at least another week, and that's taking a chance.
DeleteWow! You have a nice stretch of great weather. I bet your plants were happy to spend some time outside.
ReplyDeleteRachel, the plants are happy, my back isn't! I got the cart cover built, moved all the plants out, then when it was time to pull them into the shed for the night, I couldn't budge the cart! It was too heavy for me, so I had to carry all the plants back into the house for the night!
DeleteI am envious of all the plants you have started! And I like the idea of putting them in the wheelbarrow and wheeling in at night. If I ever figure out where I can grow some seedlings I will remember that. My few basil seeds I planted and put in front of the window look puny! I think tomorrow night I will have to put my cold frame down for a couple of nights. We are getting rain,rain and more rain here and we are suppose to have a couple cold nights. Nancy
ReplyDeleteNancy, I never did have any luck growing seedlings in the window. I have to use big old shop lights, and pack all of those plants out for sunshine on warmer days then back in every night! At least I get my exercise!
DeleteYour plants look great! I'm sure it will be a relief once they are all in the ground.
ReplyDeleteIt sure will, Dan! Then there will be about two weeks of holding my breath that the weather cooperates!
DeleteOh No! So after all that work the cart didn't even go as planned? I'm sorry. Your transplants do look incredibly healthy. Sorry to hear about the milkweed. Perhaps your neighbor wants butterflies? Maybe you coule try getting them something nicer and better behaved to plant there? LOL. Nothing like a friendly nudge.
ReplyDeleteBarbie, the neighbor has let that strip of land go unattended ever since she bought the place (2 maybe 3 years), and could care less about butterflies. When she finally pulled the weeds last fall, and planted the rhodies, I thought she was finally going to take care of it. Unfortunately it was a passing whim. I see another year of my reaching over the fence to cut the tops back so they won't go to seed, but I can't reach them all. I never had weeds in my garden when my friend Pat lived there, as she kept the strip weeded. Now I have to take my hoe out there almost daily, just to keep my side of the fence under control. She's very nice, she just doesn't pull weeds :-)
DeleteI've used the cart for plants before, but not that many plants. They were freshly watered, and so heavy I just couldn't budge it! Today they are back on tables on the patio.
Wow, your temps arte really shooting up! Are these normal seasonal temps for you?
ReplyDeleteDavid, the latest report has them shooting back down a bit (one prediction is for a low of 25 tonight, and that 84F is now down to 72). Our normal temps for this time of year, late April, are 70/45. We've usually been running lower than that this year. The graph is from The Weather Channel, but our newspaper usually has the temperatures forecast lower. Most times they are pretty close, but this year their predictions have been off by about two weeks so I expect those 80s to hit mid-May.
DeleteHoly Moly, your plants look good! I planted way too many as usual...but forgetting to open my mini greenhouse on Monday and losing some to heat..and a big rain storm pummeling the ones I forgot to cover back up took care of some of my extras!
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at how great your peppers are looking! I can never seem to get them to grow very fast.
Laura, I spent half the day figuring out how many peppers I had room for, and how many I'd have to give away! I ended up keeping 49 plants and setting 45 aside for give-aways! They are getting so big, some are forming blossoms already, and it's still way too soon to plant them out :-(
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