:::I Love Squash and Gardening Notes:::

I have decided that squash are my favorite seedlings of all because they come up so strong and hearty. I've had nothing but wispy little sissy seedlings for weeks, so I'm loving this change of texture.

After only knowing each other for a few hours, I'm in love with my squash plants. I couldn't tear myself away from them last night.

Oh my goodness, look at those vein-y things! I could die, I could just die! It's as if they start right off the bat as adult plants. All of my other seedlings look almost identical at this stage.

I think that plants do most of their growing at night, or at least it seems that way. When I woke up this morning one of my microgreen trays had completely exploded.

That soil was perfectly smooth yesterday morning, but now all of those little kohlrabi and chard and whatever else are breaking up the soil and pushing right on through.

In other news, beets and peas are up...

and so are cucumbers. And have I got a story that you wouldn't believe about tomatoes...


Reader: "Faye, I don't want to here about your garden anymore. It's boring"

Me: "Go away."


Here's the current setup --

 

This may look like overkill. Well, yeah, it is overkill. I read somewhere that you should plant multiple seeds because not everything will germinate. That didn't really happen to me. It seems like every single seed I planted eventually germinated and now wants to live. I don't have the heart to thin them out, which is why I currently have like 16 parsley plants going. What am I going to do with that much flat leaf parsley? Pesto? I hate pesto. Blurg.

In my first planting, I started all of my seeds in those clear takeout containers that you see in the background. With my online Burpee order, I just went straight for the styrofoam cups. Both have their pros and cons.

Trays
Pros -- Easy to move, use less soil, can shut the lid before germination to trap in heat, stable.
Cons -- Pricking out required, dry out more quickly.

Cups
Pros -- No pricking out, can put off transplanting longer, hold more water, slimmer footprint.
Cons -- Really a pain to move, wasted cup if nothing germinates, can fall over.

That being said, I will always grow microgreens in the trays, and I would always start 'big' seedlings like squash, beans, and peas in cups.

I still love this project. It has required some planning and a lot of work, but I am really enjoying myself. The only thing that bugs a little is moving a good majority of the cups and trays at night so that I can shut my blinds, then moving them all back in the morning so the plants can be close to the sunlight coming in through my window. Putting all the cups and some of the trays in box lids has helped make this process go quicker every day.


Questions were asked about...

1. My balcony size. I have a very large balcony. This is the only picture I have on hand, but it doesn't really show the true depth and length correctly.

Once all of the seedlings have turned into full blown plants, I'll be giving most of them away. As I said earlier, I wasn't expecting all of the seeds to germinate, so I over-planted quite a bit. Woops. But seeds are super cheap, and it's a lesson learned, so I can't complain.

2. Redemption Heap. Behold --

 

There's a seminary lesson somewhere in here. These have all been pricked out and are now living three to a Styrofoam cup. 

Well, that's all for now. I can't wait to go home tonight and see what else has happened when I was away. I'll bet the squash seedlings have more green to them and all the heads are straight. And maybe, maybemaybemaybemaybemaybe there will finally be some action with the carrots. Fingers crossed.