Blog Entry #6: Seedlings update...

cilantro

Last week I transplanted these little darlings from the egg carton that my mother convinced me to start them in. This week, they really started to take off. I've been rotating them every day to keep them standing up straight, otherwise, they all lean over to point at the source of sunlight. I'm hoping that will self-correct once I can take them outside, but Portland weather has been rather nasty the last couple weeks, even throwing in a random unexpected frost...in April!!!

Cilantro got transplanted

The next two things that sprouted out of the egg carton were cilantro and teeny tiny basil heads. I didn't think they were ready quite yet, so I just did then cilantro for now, but they are LOVING it being in a larger pot.

The Roma Tomato Update

tomatoes

Here's a photo of one of the tomato pots, there ended up being FOUR in total, but only 3 of them got planted this week. I was literally going to just throw out the remaining ones that wouldn't fit into the three pots I had, but the little darlings just kept growing in the sludge at the bottom of the water catch pan I was using with the egg carton. So I thought maybe I'll just stick them in the yard and see what happens? Here's a photo of two of them that were in the pots I had. Looking pretty good, I'd say, and a possibility that I'll have enough romas to be canning my own marinara sauce this autumn. Stay tuned!

In addition, I had that giant deck railing pot of green onion, which is doing great (see below) and two pots of spinach, which, I'm not sure WHAT they are doing, as their leaves went all curly and the stems are getting weak or something because they flop over a bit. Not sure what to think there. (photo at right)spinach

Anyway, I'm planting the basil next and the remaining Romas and we'll see what happens, but I've run out of space in the window box for them, and the area in front of the sliding door is getting awful crowded, so, could the weather please perk up a bit and stop freezing so I can put these suckers outside? As it is, when I plant the basil they will have to stay out there in make-shift green houses (take a clear-ish plastic bin and up-end it over the plants). That's how I started my plants a couple of years ago and it worked great for peas, peans and the like, but this years crops were going to be a bit more compact and non-vine growers.

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