Seedlings

Well, so far I haven't killed anything.  My seeds are now sprouting seedlings.  The garlic is thriving and I will probably transplant it and a few others later this week.  I really need to take pictures to document my progress.  I was planning to possibly plant my cukes earlier than recommended, since we had several days of very high heat.  I'm talking in the mid to uppers 80s.  But Friday it rained and really lowered the temps into the mid 60, with about 40-50 degrees at night.  I can't wait until it is time to plant the other things I am planning to.

I intend to plant bush tomatoes; hopefully Hatcher's will have Tumbler tomatoes, which are specifically developed to grow in containers.  I am considering buying a pole designed to go in the ground to hold plants.  That way they would get plenty of sunlight.  I will also need a trellis for my cukes.  The carrot seeds I bought are for a small variety called fingering, so I think a 12" pot would work just fine.

I went to the local Family Dollar and they sell very nice looking plastic pots for $2.00 apiece.  I plan to put the herbs on the steps of my apartment.  It faces east, so hopefully that will be enough light.  If not, I will move them to the backyard.  My main problem there is that (1 they are not as accessible and (2 the downstairs neighbor might not like it if I use the back stairs, since they go to her apartment.  That is one issue I don't know how to deal with: the backyard is open to both apartment and I hope that she will not take my veggies without asking.  Still, they aren't even planted yet, so I will worry about that if and when it comes up. 

New Hobby (I'm Insane)

So, despite money troubles, working my behind off at two full time jobs and already being obsessed with knitting, I have decided to try a new hobby: container gardening. In container gardening, instead of your plants being in the ground, everything is in pots. I intend to plant veggies and herbs instead of flowers and have already started with six different ones: garlic, sweet basil, oregano, cilantro, chives and parsley. I also intend to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and peppers later on in the summer, when it is warmer.

One thing that I hope will help is there is a large greenhouse in Ohio, Hatcher's Greenhouse, that recently bought a smaller one that is very close to my apartment. I spoke Saturday with the owner, who is a very nice lady and was very helpful, even though they are not actually open for about two more weeks. She even gave me a huge pot to use for my cucumbers when I plant them and some good advice. They also sell large bags of soil and fertilizer for much less then the local Walmart or Lowe's. Plus the fertilizer is organic.

I planted my herbs last Wednesday, the 14^th and since most are not supposed to sprout for 7 to 14 days, I was not expecting much to happen yet. Well on Saturday, I was delighted to find that one of my garlic cloves was showing a tiny spike above the soil. Yesterday morning, before going to work, it was about an inch tall and the other two (I put three in the same pot and will soon need a bigger one) had emerged as well. There was nothing else visible in the other five pots. I opened the blinds so the sun could get in later (they are on a small dresser in my bedroom, which has an west facing window) and when I got home from work at 4 pm, I was amazed. The first of the garlic to emerge was almost an inch taller, the other two were about an inch each and teeny, tiny furls of green are visible in two of the other pots, the basil and the oregano.

At about 5:30 I decided to walk to a nearby Family Dollar and see if they had any pots and how much they were. They had several and while I don't plan on getting any until Saturday, it is nice to know that they have some and that they are fairly cheap. There were several that were 10” for $2.00 apiece. I will probably head there on Saturday and buy six or seven of them. When I got home, I looked at my pots again, and a new spike had emerged from the Chives. Still nothing in the last two, but hopefully, in the next few days if the weather cooperates and stays sunny. It has been very rainy and cloudy the last few days, which might have something to do with it.

I have never had much luck with plants before, but I discovered something that might help: looking at my tiny, green points and knowing that they are there because I planted and watered them is a lot like the pride I feel when I have finished a knitted item. The sense of “I made this” and also the knowledge that it won't always go right, that I will screw up. But, as with my knitting, there is the possibility of a due over, that I can try again until I get it right. Last week I was working on a sweater and was a good ways up, two inches of ribbing and four inches of the pattern, when I realized that my gauge was wrong and that it was coming out much to big. I ended up frogging and restarting. And it is possible to do that with my plants.

However, whenever I get into a new hobby or interest, I really get obsessed with it and tend to go way overboard, which usually ends up biting me in the rear when I get in over my head. So, I am going to take this very carefully. I am keeping a journal about what I am doing and how my actions affect the plants. That way, if I mess up, I will hopefully have an idea of why or can ask someone what I did wrong. On that note, I think that I will be a frequent visitor at Hatcher's. So here goes. Wish me luck!