Winter Sowing Status Report #6

The weather has really been throwing me off this spring. As I said in my last status report, I feel like I'm way behind on my sowing. So, I went nuts again this week and sowed most of my warm weather vegetables and annuals.

Here is what I sowed this week...

• Summer Savory
• Lemon Drop pepper
• Casabella pepper
• Sunflower evening sun mix
• Salsify Taste of Italy
• Marjoram
• Morning Glory
• Lavatera 'Blushing Beauty' 
• Cayenne pepper
• Chocolate Habenaro pepper
• Capsicuum annuum 'fish' pepper
• Ghost pepper
• Red Savina pepper
• Congo Trinidad pepper
• Red Caribbean pepper
• Datil pepper
• Fatil pepper
• Early Girl Tomato
• Tomatillo
• Tomato Super Sweet 100 
• Tomato Jubilee
• Marigolds
• Celosia
• Datura

Winter sown containers

That's 27 more containers for me, making my total 133. Whew, almost done.

I ran out of containers, so I started planting out the cold weather vegetables in the greenhouse in order to reuse those containers. Wow, I can't believe I'm planting stuff in March!! I love my greenhouse!

Most of the containers from my first few rounds of winter sowing are sprouting. Actually, some of the ones I sowed in the last few weeks are sprouting already. It's amazing how fast some seeds will sprout in perfect conditions.

I have 50 more containers sprouting since my last status report! I won't list them all out, here's a summary...

• All the cold weather crops (kohlrabi, cauliflower, broccoli, etc)

• 

  Winter sown seedlings

  Squash
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
• Dill
• Lavatera
• Anise Hyssop
• Salsify
• Snapdragon
• Petunia
• Sunflowers
• Morning Glories
• Oregano
• Cilantro
• Poppies

Thanks again to everyone who has been following along and sharing their winter sown container numbers. The number of containers sown by you so far is a whopping 667

Wow, our gardens are going to be amazing this summer!

Free seed prize from the last drawing (winner's choice)

I'll be doing the third drawing for FREE seeds this Sunday, April 1st. You have until midnight CST Saturday, March 31st to enter your name for the second drawing (you can post your counts/entries in the comments below). I will choose a winner via random.org and announce the winner on Saturday.

Keep those blog posts and container counts coming! After this drawing, you will have one more chance to win this season. There are several ways you can win (even if you're not winter sowing) -- read this blog post for more details... Free Seed Giveaway

In case you missed them, here are links to my previous winter sowing status reports:

Winter Sowing Status Report #1
Winter Sowing Status Report #2
Winter Sowing Status Report #3
Winter Sowing Status Report #4
Winter Sowing Status Report #5

How to Sow Pepper Seeds

Cayenne peppers

Peppers are some of the easiest vegetables to grow from seed.

I grow several different types of of peppers each year, both hot and sweet varieties.

Here in Minnesota, our growing season is too short to sow pepper seeds directly in the ground.

In climates that have shorter winters, some pepper seeds do well using the winter sowing method.

In cold climates like mine, the best way to get a good crop of peppers is to start the seeds indoors 8-12 weeks before last frost.

Wear gloves when sowing hot pepper seeds

One quick note before starting... if you're planning to sow hot pepper seeds, I recommend wearing gloves.

I wear contact lenses and have had bad experiences taking out my contacts after handling any part of a hot pepper, including the seeds.

Ok, back to starting seeds... When I use seed starting cells or pellets, I sow one seed per cell/pellet.

Using a large flat tray or pot, I sow several seeds per container, spacing the seeds a little over an inch apart.

I like to lay the seeds on top of the soil to get them spaced out, then push them down into the soil and cover them with dirt. You could also make the holes first, then drop the seeds in and cover.

Sow pepper seeds 1/4"-1/2" deep

The rule of thumb for planting depth is to plant the seed twice as deep as it is wide. So, for pepper seeds, only push them down about a 1/4" - 1/2", then cover them with dirt.

Jalapeno peppers

You can water the flats before or after sowing the seeds, I like to do it after.

Keep the soil evenly moist until the seeds germinate.

Pepper seeds don't like soggy soil, but never allow the soil to dry out.

Be patient, pepper seeds can take two or more weeks to germinate, some varieties will germinate faster than others.

Pepper seeds germinate best when the soil is kept warm. Put the flats on a heating mat (old heating pad or electric blanket) or over a heat vent. Keeping the soil warm helps speed up germination.

Sweet banana peppers

The nice thing about peppers is that the seedlings don't need a ton of extra light to grow indoors.

I usually start mine in a south facing window without any additional grow lights. The seedlings grow slow enough that they won't grow leggy before I can put them outside.

Don't forget, seeds sown indoors will need to be hardened off before planting them into the garden.

Read my tips for starting seeds indoors post for more details and general tips of starting seeds indoors.

If you've never started seeds indoors before and have been wanting to try, I recommend starting with peppers. You will be rewarded with an abundance of peppers this summer, which makes it well worth the effort.

Sweet bell peppers

Guest Post: Community Garden Spring Resource Fair

Gardening Matters Logo

Today's post written by Kara Rud. Kara is with Gardening Matters, a Minneapolis area non-profit that works with community gardens to build sustainable food systems and communities. Here is Kara's guest post...

Spring is in the air and everyone has gardening on their mind. The perfect way to get prepared for this growing season is to come to Gardening Matters’ 8th Annual Community Garden Spring Resource Fair on Saturday March 31st. Gardening Matters is a Twin Cities based non-profit dedicated to successful and sustainable community gardens in Minnesota and the gardeners who make them grow.

The Spring Resource Fair will be keynoted by Karen Washington, President of the New York City Community Garden Coalition and a founding member of Black Urban Growers. Washington will talk about her work advocating for land permanence for New York City community gardens, and the importance of working in unity to achieve the Coalition’s goals. As in New York City, community gardens in Minneapolis and St. Paul are often challenged by land permanence issues. More than half of the community gardens in the Twin Cities metro area are land insecure, meaning there is no guarantee the garden will be able to continue to exist for more than the duration of a short term lease, usually only one to three years.

In addition to Washington’s keynote, the days’ events feature 12 different workshops on gardening and urban farming topics, including: urban livestock; co-op and swap models; addressing food justice on the local level; and growing superabundant gardens in small spaces. There will also be a spoken word performance from Louis Alemaychu and a traditional Aztec dance performed by the Kalpulli Yaocenoxtli Dancers.

The Resource Fair will take place from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Neighborhood House, 179 Robie Street East in St. Paul. The event is free and open to the public with a suggested donation of $5-10 at the door. We will also be collecting healthy, non-perishable food items for the Neighborhood House Food Shelf. For more information and to pre-register for the event, go to www.gardeningmatters.org

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Building Supports For Beans and Cucumbers

I love growing vertically. It takes up way less space than allowing vine plants to grow on the ground. I started growing my cucumbers on trellises a few years ago and won't go back. Last year I did the same with my squash, and what a space saver!

I've used a variety of supports for my beans and cucumbers, mostly different types of trellises and topiary forms I had. The supports I used last year were too dense, and made it difficult to find and harvest these vegetables.

Support for cucumber and bean

I decided this year, I would build better supports that make it easier to harvest.

I found several ideas on Pinterest and the internet.

I was going to go with something straight, but I've used this type of support before and the vegetables blend in with the foliage.




I ended up combining the things I liked most about a few of the ones I found into my own design.  

Fencing used to build supports

I wanted something that was arched so the veggies would hang down and out of the foliage.

I wanted the supports tall enough that I won't have to bend over too far to harvest, but they had to be short enough to fit under the greenhouse.

Another thing I like about the arch design is that I can grow the lettuce, spinach and other short vegetables underneath.

The sun loving vines will shade the cold weather vegetables and (hopefully) keep them from bolting too fast.

Fencing cut into 10' lengths

These supports were pretty simple to build and fairly inexpensive, about $15.00 per support.

I had some of these supplies already, so I built mine for a little less.

I made four of these - two for the beans, two for the cucumbers.

Fence post stakes used to build supports

The materials I used were...

• 28" garden fence, cut into 10' lengths
• 3' fence post stakes - four for each support
• hammer to pound in the stakes

The fencing isn't as sturdy as I thought it would be, so the tops might need to be supported if it gets really heavy with cucumbers.

These should make it easy to harvest the beans and cucumbers, I'm excited to see how well they hold up.

I am planning on building a new support for my squash too. Stay tuned, that will be another blog post.

Updated August 17th, 2012:
Here's what the trellises look like now. The plants have completely taken over their trellises. I love the way these look in the garden, and they make harvesting SO much easier! The only modification I would make is to add more support to the cucumber trellis, similar to the way I built my squash arch. Now that the cucumbers are hanging down, the top is sagging a bit. But, look at all those beans...
 

Bean trellis covered with beans

Cucumbers hanging down from arched trellis

Don't you just love how the cucumbers and beans hang down for easy picking? 

Winter Sowing Status Report #5

Wow, the weather has been amazing here in Minnesota for the past few weeks. Not only has it felt like spring has sprung, but it feels like June is here. I'm loving it, but it's making me feel like I'm way behind on my sowing. So, I went nuts this weekend and sowed a bunch of seeds. Here's what I sowed this weekend...

• Watermelon Moon and Stars
• Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean
• California Wonder Bell Pepper
• Swiss Chard Ruby Red
• Zucchini
• Stevia
• Peppermint
• Oregano
• Purple Kohlrabi



Latest winter sown containers

• Mammoth Sunflower
• Arikara Sunflower
• Swiss Chard Large Ribbed Dark Green
• Spinach Big Ruffles
• Okra Red Burgundy
• Okra
• Cucumber Boston Pickling
• Oregano
• Sage
• Cucumber Lemon
• Banana Pepper
• Jalapeno
• Eggplant Romanesca
• Eggplant Long
• Okra Clemson Spineless
• Serrano Chili Pepper
• Hot Red Cherry Pepper
• Orange California Wonder
• Jamaican Red Pepper
• Romano Pole Bean
• Sweet Chocolate Bell Pepper
• Corno d' Toro Sweet Pepper
• Pole Beans

That's 34 more containers for me making my total for this season 106. Oh boy, I'm running out of containers.

I found more sprouts too, here's what's sprouting this week...

• GA Collards
• Kohlrabi

• 

  Latest winter sown sprouts

  Endive
• Lettuce Lollo Rossa
• Mustard Red Frills
• Lettuce Mix
• Arikara Sunflower
• Spinach Razzle Dazzle
• Cucumber White Wonder
• Chamomile
• Radish Mix
• Turnip Purple Top
• Greek Radish
• Brussels Sprouts
• Broccoli
• Purple Kohlrabi

I prepared a few garden beds under the greenhouse and hope to start planting out the cold weather vegetables this weekend. I can't wait!

For those of you who have been following along and winter sowing with me, your container count is up to... 624

That's a lot of seeds!

Don't forget to sign up for the next drawing to win FREE seeds. You can sign up at any time. I'll do the next drawing in a week or so. Read this post for more details of all the ways you can win, even if you're not winter sowing... How to win FREE seeds

In case you missed them, here are links to my previous winter sowing status reports:

Winter Sowing Status Report #1
Winter Sowing Status Report #2
Winter Sowing Status Report #3
Winter Sowing Status Report #4

Free Seed Giveaway #3: The Winner Is...

Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Hold on to your four leaf clover because today one lucky winner gets FREE seeds!! I am thrilled by the number of people who have been participating in winter sowing with me this season. The amount of containers that have been sown by all of us so far is...
696


Can you believe it? This is so exciting!

Free seeds from drawing #2

The winner of this round of the contest is...

homeblessings

Congratulations!!!

(homeblessings - I don't have your email address, please email me at getbusygardening@gmail.com when you see this).




If you didn't win this time, don't worry - I will have more chances to for you win the FREE seeds over the next several weeks, there will be at least 2 more drawings. The entries start over between each drawing, so be sure to keep those winter sowing numbers and blog post entries coming!

**Don't forget, there are several ways you can enter to win the free seeds. You can win whether you're winter sowing or not. Read about the details of this contest in my free seeds contest post. Each one of your container counts and blog entries posted now through the next drawing (date TBD, I'll announce it soon) will count!**

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Propagating Aloe Plants

Aloe vera

Every year my aloe vera plant grows a bunch of new pups around the base of the mother plant.

Usually by spring, the pups are large enough to be removed.

Aloe plants are propagated by removing the mature pups.

I remove them from my plant every spring; spring is the best time to propagate and repot aloe plants.

The pups don't have to be removed from the mother plant, but I like to make room for aggressive summer growth (and more pups).

Some aloes reproduce faster than others and will fill a pot quickly, other types take several years to produce mature pups.

Here is a close up of the aloe vera pups before I started to remove them.

Aloe pups around the base of the mother plant

To remove the pups, carefully slide the entire root ball out of the pot. Brush away the dirt around the base of the parent and pups until you can see the roots.

Aloe pups on mother plant

Aloe pup removed from mother plant

Only remove pups that have their own root system, pups without roots won't survive on their own.

Gently tease and untangle the pup's roots away from the mother, disturbing the roots of the mother plant as little as possible.

If the stem of the pup is attached to the mother, sever the connection with a sterile knife or clippers.

This will make it easier to untangle the roots.

Once the pups are removed, slide the mother plant back into the original pot, or a new one if you want to repot it.

Now you can plant each individual pup into it's own pot. Always use a clean pot and sterile potting soil when potting plants. Aloe plants are succulents and prefer a sandy, fast draining soil. If you tend to over water plants, choose a pot with drainage holes.

Aloe pups potted up

Plant the pup in it's new pot at the same depth it was in the old pot.

Wait to water the pups for several days after potting them up.

This will give them time to recover from the shock.

Don't forget to add a plant tag to each plant.


Look at all those new plants! Be sure to share them with friends. They make great gifts!

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Seed Pellets -vs- Seed Cells

While shopping for seeds last week, I started browsing the growing equipment isle. I noticed that the Home Depot no longer carries the seed flats that I use, the ones with the plastic cell inserts. Seed starting pellets are all you can buy.

I've used these seed starting pellets in the past and didn't like them. It's been a few years, so I decided to try them again and compare them the my usual seed starting method.

Seed starting pellets

The first thing that jumped out at me right away was the cost. These pellets are definitely not economical compared to a large bag of seed starting dirt.

Obviously, these are for convenience or someone who doesn't start a lot of seeds. I bought 72 pellets, which is the same number of plastic seed cells that fill the same tray.

Here are my thoughts...

Seed starting pellets in the tray

Pellets
What I like:

• Fun to watch grow
• Easy start up (don't have to fill cells with dirt)
• Only have to clean and disinfect the flat tray
• Less mess

What I don't like:

• Not economical
• Mesh outside doesn't decompose (I was still finding them several years later)
• Hole too small for large seeds
• Harder to tag if you have multiple types of seeds in one flat, since there's nowhere to stick the plant marker

Filling seed start cells with dirt

Cells
What I like:

• Reusable, just add dirt
• Economical
• Easy to mark small grouping of different types of seeds

What I don't like:

• More prep work to clean and disinfect the cells and the trays

There are two main things that keep me from switching to using the pellets. One is cost, and the other is the mesh outside that won't decompose.

The cost is the hardest for me to get past. I buy a big bag of dirt for my winter sowing containers and use the same dirt for my flats; buying pellets would be an added cost for me. As for the mesh outside of the pellets, I could peel those off right before planting, so that's not a deal breaker.

Sown seed flat trays

What about you - do you love the convenience of the pellets, or are you a penny pincher like me? Did I miss any pros and cons?

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Winter Sowing Status Report #4

I checked my containers today and found that some of them were dried out. We haven't had much snow or rain this winter. If your weather has been dry too, be sure to check your containers to see if they need to be watered.

I've been a busy bee, I sowed 28 more containers this week; that makes 72 for me so far this season. Here's the list of what I've sown this week (some of these are second rounds of seeds I've sown in previous batches)...

• Broccoli
• Rutabega
• GA Collards
• Salsify
• Spinach Razzle Dazzle Hybrid
• Oregano
• Chamomile
• Spinach Big Ruffles Hybrid
• Lettuce Musclun Mix

• 

  Winter sown containers in garden

  Lettuce Lollo Rossa (purple)
• Cucumber Lemon
• Kohlrabi Purple Vienna
• Swiss Chard
• Swiss Chard Ruby Red
• Radish Mix
• Dill
• Cilantro
• Cauliflower
• Carrot Danvers Half Long
• Carrot White
• Carrot Early Nantes
• Mustard Red Frills
• Turnip purple top
• Anise Hyssop
• Greek Radish
• Brussles Sprouts

I found my first sprouts yesterday, yippie! Here's the list of what's sprouting...

First winter sown sprouts

• Lettuce Musclun Mix
• Mustard Red Frills
• Turnip Purple Top
• Greek Radish
• Radish mix
• Rudabega

For those of you who have been following along and participating in my seed giveaway, thank you!

The total containers sown by YOU so far is...  591

Can you believe it? Fantastic!

I'll be doing the third drawing for FREE seeds this Saturday, March 17th. You have until midnight CST Friday, March 16th to enter your name for the second drawing (you can post your counts/entries in the comments below). I will choose a winner via random.org and announce the winner on Saturday.

Keep those blog posts and container counts coming! I will have at least 3 more drawings over the next few months. There are several ways you can win (even if you're not winter sowing) -- read this blog post for more details... Free Seed Giveaway

Sample seed prize

I tell you, with the nice weather we've been having lately, I feel like I'm way behind on my winter sowing! I better get busy again this weekend!

In case you missed them, here are links to my previous winter sowing status reports:

Winter Sowing Status Report #1
Winter Sowing Status Report #2
Winter Sowing Status Report #3

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Water Features - The Home & Garden Show

This past weekend, I went to the Home & Garden Show at the Minneapolis Convention Center. I haven't been for several years, so I was due for a visit. I was a bit disappointed there wasn't more space dedicated to garden stuff, but not completely surprised.

One thing I noticed is that water features have gained popularity since the last time I attended this show. The water features ranged from small fountains, to very elaborate water features. I had fun taking pictures of my favorites.

Unique water feature

Many of the larger water features combined fire and water, I love that idea! This one had a gas fire pit in the center of a small pond. I checked the water, and it was cold so you could have fish and plants in the pond (I was worried the fire would make the water too hot). I would make it larger.

Waterfalls and pond combined with fire

This next one had a waterfall that ran into a stream. I couldn't get the whole thing in one shot. There was a bridge (bottom right) that went over the stream part. The stream was about 15 feet long. There wasn't a deep pond area so I'm not sure how the water was being cycled. I could definitely see this in my backyard.

Waterfall and stream

The next two shots are of a very fancy waterfall. This was definitely the most elaborate water feature at the show. This is way too fancy for me, but I wouldn't object if someone wanted to put it in my yard.

Elaborate waterfall

I love the lights at the bottom of the waterfall, imagine how beautiful this would be at night. The waterfall was behind a sitting area with a fire pit. Very nice.

Elaborate waterfall sitting area

Here is another water feature that combined water and fire. It's hard to see in this picture, but the two tall pillars are torches, and the stone in front is a water fountain. All of this was sitting in a deep pond.

Fancy stone water feature and pond

This last one is something that I could see blending very well into the landscape. It would be great for someone who doesn't want anything fancy, but wants to add a large water feature. I love the moss growing on the stone.

Rock water feature

I've been thinking about adding another water feature to my yard. This is just the inspiration I need. The second and third ones are my favorites, and look like realistic DIY projects. I would love something that combines fire and water. I'll have to do some research to see how realistic it would be to build something like this.

What do you think, do any of these water features stand out to you? Which one is your favorite?

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Greenhouse Update

It's been about three weeks since my husband finished building the greenhouse, so I thought I would give you an update on how things are going. Once the ground started to thaw in there, it was very mucky to walk around.

Cardboard for weed barrier

I have a couple bales of straw in the greenhouse which I planned to use again this year as an organic weed barrier. I decided to lay that down now to help with the mucky ground (and extra early weed control). Before spreading out the straw, I put down a layer of newspaper and cardboard for extra weed protection.

Straw over cardboard and newspaper

It looks much nicer now, and our shoes stay clean. Actually, it smells like a barn in there, I told my husband we need to buy some chickens (ha, ha, one thing at a time!).

Layer of straw as weed barrier

At the suggestion of a reader, I moved my rain barrels into the greenhouse and filled them up with snow. Once they are full of water, the sun will heat up the water during the day, which will help keep the greenhouse warm at night. Plus, it will help with the task of watering (until it's warm enough to turn on the water outside and use a sprinkler).

Winter sown containers in the greenhouse

Last week, I decided to move my winter sown containers to the greenhouse.

I started to think about how the greenhouse will extend my growing season for up to a month.

Once I let that sink in, I had a minor panic attack.

On average, we can start planting our cold weather vegetables in mid-April.

Well, that means that I should be able to start planting them in the greenhouse in a few weeks. They were still frozen outside! We'll see what happens.

I've also sown some cold weather vegetables inside this year. I plan to move those flats to the greenhouse in the next week to harden them off. Again, we'll see what happens. It's all an experiment!

The ground in the greenhouse is taking longer to thaw than I expected. We haven't had much sun and it's been pretty cold out lately. The temperature in the greenhouse has basically remained the same as temperature outside... up until this weekend. On Sunday it was mostly sunny, and it got up to almost 70F in the greenhouse; the outside temperature was in the low 30sF.

Thermometer in greenhouse

Today, it got up into the 50sF outside, and it was sunny. I checked the max temperature in the greenhouse, and it hit a whopping 110F!! Yikes!

The winter sown containers weren't very warm inside, thank goodness. I guess I better figure out a plan for venting it before I put any more seeds out there. If this keeps up, I expect the ground to be completely thawed by the weekend. I don't know how long it normally takes to thaw though. I'm impatient and excited (and nervous) to start planting stuff!

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Free Seed Giveaway #2: The Winner Is...

Today is the day to announce the winner for the second FREE seed giveaway. Thanks to all the participants during this round. Our total number of containers sown so far is
525

That is fantastic!!

FREE seed prize from one of last year's giveaways

The winner of this round is....

 Simne

Congratulations!!!

(Simne - I don't have your email address, please email me at getbusygardening@gmail.com when you see this).






As I mentioned before, I will have more chances to for you win the FREE seeds over the next several weeks, there will at least 3 more drawings. The entries start over between each drawing, so be sure to keep those winter sowing numbers and blog post entries coming!

**Don't forget, there are several ways you can enter to win the free seeds. You can win whether you're winter sowing or not. Read about the details of this contest in my free seeds contest post. Each one of your container counts and blog entries posted now through the next drawing date (TBD, I'll announce it soon) will count!**


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