Winter Gardening

I spent this weekend working in the basement again.  I did some cleaning but most of the weekend I spent putting together a new plant stand.  I brought the stand in December when Jung had their Dollars Days.  I waited until the basement floor was done to assemble it and it was fairly easy to put together.  The wooden plant stand in the second bedroom just could not hold all the plants I start from seeds. 

Sunday, I planted two flats of petunias and put them on the heat mat.  I found time to start my 2013 Seed database.  This allowed me to determine which seeds I still need to order.  I will be ordering German Pink Tomatoes, Black Krim Tomatoes, Chocolate Beauty Pepper, Forkhood Acorn Squash, Table Queen Acorn Squash, Cheddar Cauliflower and Graffiti Cauliflower.  I will be trying these new varieties Black Plum Tomato and Lemon Mint Herb this year.

Week 3: A Little of This and A Little of That

Last weekend I spend most of my time transplanting over 250 snapdragons and approximately 118 nicotiana plants into the 3-hole packs.   Besides transplanting the flower seedlings I found time to transplant most of my tomatoes, ground cherries and tomatillos seedlings into individual pots.  The weather was wonderful outside last week but I spent most the weekend in the basement trying finish transplanting all the seedlings.  I only have two starter trayes left to transplant that includes 30 paste tomato plants, 18 eggplants, about 50 purple basils and another 50 green basil plants left to do.

I was hoping to start my cucumbers, butternut, acorn squash, and pumpkins last weekend but there is only so much time in a day.  I did find some time on Sunday morning to go outside and plant golden pea pods, sugar snap peas.  I put in more short rows of radishes, carrots and spinach.  The spinach and radishes from the earlier sowing sprouted a week ago.

I have run out of room on my plant stand, so I moved my cabbage, Brussels sprout, broccoli, cauliflower, and petunias out to the 3 season porch.  I would like to bring them outside to harden off but the nights have been in the mid to upper 30’s and I am worried that it is too cold for them.  The plants are more protected on the enclosed porch and seem to be doing well.

Today is the first day this week we will see the sun and I am hoping to rototill one of the gardens where I want to plant the cabbages, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.  I may just plant them before I harden them off outside.  If I do that, I am going to cover them with a ground cloth to protect them from the direct rays of the sun.

This weekend I will finished transplanting all my seedlings and plant the cucumbers and squashes in started pots.  I use to never start plants for cucumbers and squashes but in the last 4-5 years I had the replant seed directly is the soil least twice before they germinate.  When I mentioned this problem to other gardeners, agree that they are having the same problem.

Wednesday evening on my way home from work, I stopped at the local nursery and pick up more soil and flats for the weekend project.  So I am ready to finish the last of the indoor gardening this weekend. 

Note: We got frost this morning.  I guess it was a good thing that I did not put the plants outside to harden off.  I just hope the radishes and spinach that sprouted in garden survive.

AHH, SPRING FINALLY SHOWED ITSELF: Week 10

Wednesday morning I woke up to 3-4 inches of snow. The weatherman claimed we get sleet and 1-2 inches of snow. I think we lucked out of the sleet and got the snow instead. I spend an hour digging out my driveway and front walk. My normal 50 minute commuted turned into a 1 hour and 45 minutes. It sure did not seem spring was going to come soon this morning but on the drive home I saw a pair of Sandhill cranes flying over the marsh just southwest of Madison heading north. It will not be long before we will hear and see them dancing in the marshes.


Next week my ivy germaniums and coleus should be big enough to transplant into 3 packs. The petunias planted 3 weeks ago have their first true leave. I will not transplant them until they have four to six leaves. All the impatiens were planted on Sunday and I did find time to plant several cold weather vegetable. The varieties are: Ruby Perfection Cabbage (Red), Packman Broccoli, Cheddar Cauliflower (yellow head), and Falstaff and Long Island Improved Brussels Sprouts. I ordered a variety of Brussels Sprouts call Jade Cross. I planted Jade Cross two years ago and had a much larger yield than the varieties I planted last year. A Wisconsin seed catalog has several stores in Madison, I still waiting for them to put out a variety of cauliflower with a purple head. I really want to try mixing the white, yellow and purple cauliflower heads together; it should make a pretty dish.


Tuesday, morning while walking out the front door I found my garden supply package and here is what I ordered. The back disc is the self watering device which is put in the bottom of a hanging basket. I sure hope it works I spend about an hour everyday during the summer watering basket and planters.


No gardening duties this coming weekend but the following week will be a busy one. The last of the annual flowers will be sown; it is also the week that peppers will be started. I brought 5-6 color bell pepper and 2 types of hot peppers.

PS: I was talking to one of my fellow gardeners at work about all the seeds I been starting. He mentioned that I had a big smile on face just thinking about getting my hands covered with dirt.

Week 13

Eight of ten Summertime Hybrid Geraniums (Ivy Leaf) germinated on 2/16/2011. The Wizard Blend Coleus just has one of 50 seed is up but the normal germination can be between 10-20 days.


This weekend is the 12 weeks out and I will be started several varieties petunias. They are: Easy Wave Hybrid Starfish, Blue Wave Hybrid, Easy Wave Red Hybrid, Easy Wave White Hybrid, Grandiflora Red Storm Hybrid, Easy Wave Hybrid Marble Mix, Opera Supreme Raspberry Ice Hybrid and Cascade Orchid Mist Hybrid.

I prefer to use self watering trays to germinate seeds. I built my own grow rack from a Fine Gardening Magazine article. A four shelf stand was made from 2”x2” pine boards and treated with a waterproof finish. The three bottom shelves are fitted with two shop fixtures per shelf and one shelf has a heating mat taped down with carpet tape. Each fixture is out fitted with two grow lights. I put the trays on the heating mat until the seeds germinate then they are moved to another shelf. I do not like to keep seedlings on the heat mat too long since I have lost seeds from the fungus that causes damp off. I usually put three seed per cell and transfer the plants into pot when the first true leaves develop.