This is today ...
What's the big deal? Remember when we attended that conference earlier this month, and I said that it's a miracle that anything ever grew here? Well, one of the first things I learned is that seeds really do need warm temperatures to germinate. We've been starting seeds either in our house, in the pump room, or in our basement. The latter is about 60 degrees, which is way too cold for most seeds to germinate, which explains why our germination rate was so low and so slow! Since the house is 64 degrees, that's not much better, so I realized that I needed to invest in one of those seed-starting mats. And from the looks of my first attempt at starting seeds, it looks like it's worth every penny.
The seeds are germinating much faster than ever before! Several popped through the surface on Sunday, which is only three days after being planted. Once they're up and growing, I can remove them from the mat, and they should keep going at our normal basement temperature. Then I'll start another flat. This is also a good idea, since you should use succession plantings -- a little today, a little more in a couple weeks, and so on, rather than planting everything at once. That way, if you have trouble with weather, insects, disease, you won't lose everything. It will also spread out the harvest.
3 comments:
That is so great. Look at them! Wow! How large a garden are you planting? I know I should know [I read you everyday] but I can't remember.
Best of luck! :)
I'm not sure if I've ever actually said how big the garden is -- it's about 80 X 80 feet. We also have some small plots scattered around the property.
I'm glad you could see the seedlings. They don't show up as well in the picture as I'd hoped.
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