Check Out The Legs On That One!!!

Cilantro Seedlings

A couple posts ago I mentioned a problem I was having with my new sprouts called "legging". Legging occurs when the newly sprouted plants do not get a proper amount of sunlight. The sprouts are so desperate for light, they grow very long stems trying to reach for sunlight. Everyday for the first week, the sprouts would actually lean towards the window.

Legging is bad because the plants use all their effort to grow up rather than begin a strong root foundation. Also, the long, thin frame leaves it succeptable to the outside wind and cool temperatures.

I had to go a couple routes to help alleviate this problem. Since we've had a lot of rainy days, I needed to find a way to provide artificial sunlight. I ran over to the local garden center and bought a 150-watt grow light. On cloudy, cool days I leave the plants inside and turn on the grow light for 8 hours. This process helped in stopping the plants from continuing to leg. At least now they can begin to strengthen their roots and stalks.

In The Second Week, Jeremy Created Light

My second route was to actually plant some of the sprouts in their permanent summer homes. The acorn squash seedlings had become quite leggy but had good leaf structure. Knowing that we had passed our last freeze, I planted the squash in a pot I planted cucumbers last year. But when I planted them, I buried the sprouts almost to the leaves. The plants were not strong enough to handle winds and hard rain. By burying the plants so deep, the soil provided support. But as you may see in the picture below, some of the stalks still could not handle the stress and broke off. This is not a bad thing in that surviving stalks now have more room to grow and spread. Kind of like the garden's version of natural selection. 

Planted Acorn Squash

I also read another option to alleviate legging is fanning the plants with paper or other objects. This simulates wind and tells the plant it needs to strengthen itself in order to survive the environment. To me, this sounds like you'd have to do a lot of fanning. So my advice is to get the plants as much natural sunlight and warm temps as possible. And if you can't, buy the light.

Let's also update the status on all our crops. I can say as of this past weekend, ALL of our seed varieties have germinated. Some better than others. 

The Outside Crops

All the root veggies have begun popping up. The rutabagas came up first followed by the onions and carrots. The salad mix lettuce has also made its appearance. Last year's peppermint is still rising from its winter death bed and the strawberry plants are all coming back to life. The chives plant is a huge weed (which is awesome for mashed potatoes).

The Sugar Peas Are Reaching For The Trellis

I'm very impressed with the way the dwarf sugar peas have sprouted. I fully expect within the next week or two the sprouts will have reached the base of the trellis and will quickly head to the top. They have been the fastest growers.

The Inside Crops

With the legging problem under control, I'm feeling good about the inside guys, too. The cilantro has begun making leaves with that signature rigid look. The chamomile and thyme haven't done much since first sprouting. The lavender has one stalk that looks healthy with large leaves. The rosemary is the runt of the family. But my focus is on the New Mexico chile varieties. They both germinated a little earlier than I expected, but they look really good at this point. I have my fingers crossed.

Because we are going on vacation for a week and a half, the inside crops will be under the kind care of a coworker in the bureau. They are in my boss's office in front of a large west-facing window. So let's hope for some long and sunny afternoons!!!

All-in-all, we're looking pretty good. Once we get back from our trip, it will be time to get the other veggie plants into the pots and on their way to producing great eats.

For My Hombres Back in Nuevo Mexico...

A very good friend, Tim Blotz, did a wonderful thing and mailed me some new seeds I'm very eager to try out. Tim has a bit of a green thumb himself. The Blotz clan lives in Minneapolis and has an amazing garden in a place most people relate to snow, hockey, and ice fishing. That hasn't deterred Tim. How many people do you know grow their own CORN in their home garden? That deserves a tip of the straw hat.

NuMex Espanola Improved Chile

So what has me so "fired" up about these seeds? Because they will sprout and produce two chile varieties found in my old stomping grounds of New Mexico.

The Land of Enchantment will always hold a special place in my heart. But, it's also the heart of the chile universe. Most famous is the Hatch chile found only in Hatch, New Mexico (well at least authentic Hatch chiles).

The opportunity to grow something from New Mexico (a place where I lived for two years, have family, and found my best of friends) in our garden is very exciting.















NuMex Heritage 6-4 Chile

Last week I dropped the seeds in two small planters, similar to what I did with the other seed varieties. The first chile variety we have is the NuMex Espanola Improved Chile. According to the CPI (Chile Pepper Institute) at New Mexico State University, this chile is very hot and has been adapted to grow in the shorter growing season of Northern New Mexico. If you haven't been to New Mexico, the northern part of the state is very mountainous and the climate is much cooler.

The second chile species Tim sent us is NuMex Heritage 6-4. This variety is an improved chile from the original 6-4. The 6-4 is one of New Mexico's original pod types with medium to hot heat level. The Heritage 6-4 has a better yield and 20% more flavor.....so say my friends at the CPI.

According to the growing instructions, these seeds need to be sowed 8-10 weeks before planting in the garden outside. Depending on soil temperature, it will take 2-4 weeks to germinate. The optimum soil temp is between 80-90 degrees. I can tell you that I don't have the soil at that temp. It is probably around 70-75 degrees. I'd need to add a propagation mat for heat. I don't think I'm going to go that far.

Once these babies get going, I hope to have them outside in May and get a nice crop by late summer to roast or use in a chile stew. If you want to add a little "caliente" to your garden, I highly recommend checking out the CPI's website. The Chile Pepper Institute
They also sell all kinds of seed varieties and instructions on how to grow chiles and prevent diseases.

By the way, here is a look-see at our seeds we sowed a couple weeks ago. The acorn squash and cilantro have taken off. I'm worried that we've had too many cloudy days for them, so they have become leggy in their search for sunlight. I need to research how I can fix this problem.

Germinator: Rise of the Herbs

Five days after being sowed, we have our first sprigs of life.

First Out of the Dirt: Chamomile

The Beginning of Thyme

                                                                          

Sowing The Seeds

The Herb/Flower/Squash Beginnings

Despite a weekend of non-stop drizzle and cool temperatures, the time was now to get cracking on the crops I'm growing from seed. I want to give the seeds 4-6 weeks of germination before I transition them to bigger pots outside after the season's last frost. I took out the supplies I bought two weeks ago and first planted the cool season crops in their permanent pots. The finger carrots, rutabagas, Lisbon onions, and lettuce were the first to get put in potting mix. I chose long planter bins in order to simulate rows. I simply added potting mix, spread the seed, and covered the seeds with more potting mix at a desired depth per directions from each of the veggies' seed packets. I positioned the pots in a part of the backyard getting most of the sun. If you notice in the pic below, I still have the strawberry, peppermint, and chives plants from last year. Strawberries are perennial while the chives plant has quickly re-emerged. I was about to throw the peppermint plant away, but I saw green sprouts emerging from the soil. I figured I might as well keep it. As for the salad mix lettuce, I planted it in the round elevated pot I used for last year's cantaloupe. No special reason....it just looks like a salad bowl.

From L-R: Strawberries, Peppermint, Lisbon onions, Rutabagas (2 pots), Finger Carrots, Chives (back left), Salad Mix Lettuce (back right)

Once I finished with the outdoor seeds, I prepped my tray and starters for the herbs and acorn squash. I plan on keeping these cups inside at night and cool days. If the weather is nice and sunny, I'll probably stick them outside during daylight hours. As you can see, I have six seed cups for the inside. A seventh cup, dill, I'm leaving outside. The seed packet noted dill seeds must sit on the surface of the soil in full sunlight in order to start germinating. It does no good to have those seeds inside away from the sunlight. I'm very eager to see how the rosemary and acorn squash seeds develop. Rosemary is my favorite herb and I don't think my plant from last year will recover from the winter cold. As for the acorn squash, I won't be able to move that outside until late April or early May. So I figure I have a good month and a half to get the seeds to germinate before I can safely pot them outside.

Instructions Said to Plant 6-8 Acorn Squash Seeds Per Mound

Aside from the sowing this weekend, I've been mapping my layout for the garden. It will be much bigger and I'll have to put some plants on the other side of the walkway. But one lesson I learned from last year was accessibility to the plants. Once the plants grew to full size, it was very difficult to prune, water, and harvest because they were bunched together. This year, I need to make sure I have paths to walk between the plants. I also need to take into consideration which plants will want to spread out and cling onto things. Those may be better suited for the edges of the yard near the landscaping and fence.

It's March and Snowing!!! Perfect Gardening Weather.

Yesterday I made my first expensi.... errrr... extensive visit to the garden center. It's that time of year to start thinking, planning, and even planting for Garden '09.

For X-mas, I got several pouches of seeds for root and leaf veggies (Thanks, Mother Mason). Little finger carrots, rutabagas, salad mix lettuce, and white Lisbon onions are all new additions to the garden line-up. They also are all cool season growers. It's recommended they be planted in early spring as soon as the soil can be worked. Well, since we grow everything in pots, that's pretty much whenever we choose.

So yesterday I went to Merrifield Garden Center and bought the infrastructure to begin sowing the seeds. I bought a couple long rectangular planter for the carrots, onions, and rutabagas. This is to simulate rows. I also bought three bags of potting mix, 7 small cups to start seeds, a tray to catch water from the cups, and a pouch of acorn squash seeds. Emily and I love acorn squash and since I never saw acorn squash plants last year, I figure I need to grow them from seed. I also bought some fertilizer for the lawn. But I could create a whole new blog just on taking care of lawns.

Remember, if you plan on growing things in pots, YOU MUST USE POTTING MIX. Garden soil will not work as well.

Of course this morning we woke up to a light blanket of snow on the ground. So I'll have to hold off planting the root veggies outside for another weekend. Not that they couldn't handle the weather. I just don't want to be outside in the snow dealing with potting mix and wet ground.

It also appears I won't have to worry about planting chives again. The '08 plant is thriving right now. The sun is shifting back north and providing sun for a couple hours in the backyard. By moving the chive plant into that sun area has given it new life to photosynthesize. I also fed it a couple weeks ago. So now it has the nutrients to get going. Chive mashed potatoes will soon be making their appearance back on the dinner table!!!