Every time I start a seed now, I try to experiment with what works best. I planted two types of broccoli on 3/8/13. I placed one plant on top of the fridge and one in the mini greenhouse. The picture to the left are the seedlings I started in the mini greenhouse along with all my other growing seedlings- uncovered. The one on the right in the plastic pot (6 for $1.00 at Dollar Tree) was left to germinate on top of the refrigerator. For the fridge seedlings, I covered the pot with one of those overhead projector plastic sheets. The fridge one definitely grew taller but doesn't seem as strong. The mini greenhouse grew more slowly. The seeds were also for different types of broccoli- the left one in the greenhouse is a more expensive seed from Ferry Morse- Broccoli De Cicco and the plant on the right left to germinate on top of the fridge was a much cheaper seed called Broccoli Calabrese Heirloom (19 cents a pack) from Valley Green. What a difference huh? I don't know what to make of this little experiment. The refrigerator seed definitely germinated faster but I wonder if when sown, each plant will grow the same or different and how much each plant will yield in produce. Keep posted for that information!
 |
Left: Broccoli De Cicco (germinated in mini greenhouse) and
Right: Broccoli Calabrese Heirloom (germinated on top of refrigerator) |
Here is a picture of my cilantro now- kinda overgrown but still growing. Remember when I thought it was dying? Well, it seems like it is actually coming back alive since it's been in my mini greenhouse.
 |
| Cilantro- started 2/13/13 |
This Pea Alaska plant is the tallest in my mini greenhouse right now. I had to stake it with my bamboo skewers. In case you're wondering, I placed decorative paper cranes at the tip of the bamboo skewer. The pea tips are growing taller than it's stakes so I will have to find longer stakes soon.
 |
| Pea Alaska |
I am loving my plants. Everyday, I open the curtains and unzip the plastic door of my mini greenhouse to let the seedlings catch sun and get warm. Every night, I close the curtains to keep out drafty cold air and I zip up the greenhouse doors. Every night, I also turn each plant so that in the morning, the plants have to reach back the other way to get sun. This way, they have to exercise and hopefully, don't get too spindly.
On a side note, my two dogs have been great with my plants. I sometimes spray them with the plant's water bottle and they run from me. They probably think I am weird because I speak to my plants and encourage them to grow strong. I tell my plants I am proud of them and lightly place my hand over them. Here are my two dogs who love me despite my craziness. Happy planting in grow zone 5a!
 |
| Fur Babies |
No comments:
Post a Comment