Every year for the past seven years we’ve been starting seeds indoors and transplanting them to our gardens once the weather warms. Our season is pretty short here in Ottawa, Ontario, and so getting a head start is always key. Every year we make a few changes based on successes and failures, and this year I’m much happier with our set up and progress.
We started some tomatoes and peppers the first weekend in March, and although some are “leggy” most are coming along nicely. Everything that was started in those pre-fab seed pods did very well, and our makeshift seed pods made out of seed mix and egg cartons didn’t fare so well. I still haven’t figured out whether it was the mix or the seed that was the problem (red pepper saved from last season). They’ve all now been repotted into bigger pots (4 weeks after start date once the second leaves had arrived) and are doing quite well.
March-started plants in far corner (#1-5) in black pots and Tims cups and April-started plants in closest corner coir pots (#7-8)
There is also a mix of plants started the first weekend in April, and as the March plants don’t seem to be too far ahead of the April ones I may wait until April next year to start everything. We only have one small grow light (desk lamp) with our set up right now, and with a west-facing house the plants don’t get enough light to make much of a difference in starting early I don’t think.
April-started tomatoes (#8-10)
I also started some more plants this weekend, including broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, eggplant, a variety of fun peppers for the deck (oooh, aurora pepper!), and some ground cherries and garden huckleberry.
Gotta love our upcycled roast chicken container greenhouses
I’m also hoping to get some peas into the soil next to the garlic that has sprouted (half of it on the warm side of the garden, anyways) and start some kale in the cold frame.
Summary of plants started to date (or survived thus far):
- Tiny Tim Cherry Tomato (3$
- Whippersnapper Cherry Tomato (1)
- BRANDYWINE Tomato (3)
- California Pepper (3)
- Banana Pepper (2)
- Red pepper (0)
- Yellow Tomato (2)
- Indigo Rose Cherry Tomato (3)
- Chocolate Cherry Tomato (3…2 look dodgy)
- Roma Tomato (3)
- Broccoli (2)
- Brussel Sprouts (2)
- Early Copenhagen Cabbage (2)
- Little Fingers Eggplant (1)
- Aurora Pepper (1)
- Red Bell Pepper (2)
- Tomatillo (1)
- Bulgarian Carrot Pepper (1)
- Red Cherry Bomb Peppers (1)
- Nil
- Garden Huckleberry (1)
- Ground cherry (1)
A few more weeks and we’ll be outside!
