Been a few since the last update. Had a few setbacks. Turns out a bunch of seeds I had were just too old and didn't germinate. Also the grow lights I bought that were supposed to be full spectrum apparently aren't as they didn't provide the light needed for seedlings to grow properly. Lost most of my flower seedlings and a bunch of cucumbers because of it. Good news is I had already bought over 100 packs of seeds for next year so I just replanted most of the stuff that didn't come up except for the flowers. Way too late for those.
A quick continuation of the Starting Peppers Take 2: Part 2 from last time. The method does work but as I said above the seeds were bad. I did mange to get some cayenne and seranno peppers from newer seeds along with the ones that had germinated last time. I also planted some more seeds in starer pots outside. Nothing yet but I don't think it's been long enough yet. Hopefully I will have some more seedlings in a few days.
Now for the good news. Even with the setbacks I managed to get lots of cucumber seedlings. In the last 2 days nearly all of my zucchini seeds have germinated as well. Tomatoes were hit and miss. Some of the old seeds germinated some didn't. Seems they do better with age than the pepper and cucumbers do. Roma's were a total strike out though. Have a few pics of the seedling mayham:
I still have about 7 more flats in the basement that haven't germinated yet. Right now I'm working on getting the garden ready for planting. Ton of stuff to do there. Have some shrubs that need to come out. Might take out part of a hedgerow that has become too ugly and big. The main thing right now holding back any planting is the landscaping fabric and mulch. It has to come out. Already did the area where I plant most of the zucchini plants. I'm doing that stuff in the afternoon and transplanting cucumbers in the evening. Speaking of which in this pic taken yesterday I had 85 cucumber plants transplanted in hanging baskets. Today I'm up to 135.
This year I'm doing 5 plants per pot. I usually only do 4 but most of the cucumbers came up in pots of 2 and 3 so 5 it was. First no seeds germinate then you over plant and almost all do. Still room for probably another dozen pots in that corner and there are other places around the yard to hang even more. I'm also going to plant some other things in smaller hanging baskets I have. Broccoli, onions, basil, etc. Cucumbers don't do well in those pots so might as well try something else.
So I have a bunch of old seeds from 2006-2011. I didn't want to just pitch them so what did I do? When I moved the plants outside I filled the plastic trays they were in with a thin layer of potting mix. Then I just tossed in a couple packets of seeds. Think I have 9 trays with the different pepper seeds I had. Also have 2 with cucumber seeds. If they sprout I will transplant them into starter pots. If they don't well the potting mix will just go into a hanging basket or other flower pot. Nothing wasted. It's only been a few days so no results yet.
So much stuff to do. For once I'd like to get ahead but that never happens. Anyway here's a pic of my gardening buddy. Someone to talk to while I work. He doesn't say much though:
