Seedling Update

I was a bit torn today about what to post about, the seedlings or the beginning of the cedar poly tunnel. I chose the seedlings but will follow up in a couple days with the poly tunnel post that is sitting in draft form.

I will start with the outdoor seedlings as the weather has been so nice. This last weekend we had clear blue sky's and highs of 12c(54f) so the seedlings in the coldframe look rather happy. The coldframe ran about 20-30c(68-86f) over the weekend which is a very good result. I am really going to have to monitor the coldframe closely now because it may start cooking everything as the weather starts getting warmer. There is still lots to learn about the coldframe and some kind of system has to be introduced to keep the lid open.

Here we have the Mesclun Mix Lettuce, Romaine, Bok Choy, Radicchio &
Tuscano Kale. The Green Onions are not germinating so I will start some
fresh inside and place them out once they germinate. I also have some
thinning to do as you can see.

Indoor seedling overview.

Broccoli seedlings, looking a little leggy. Not sure if this is normal growth for them?

The Tomato I am try to get producing by June. The other 12
or so tomatoes will be started within a couple weeks.

Brussels Sprouts seedlings looking very nice.

This is the second seeding of the yellow storage onions after dropping
the first batch. I am very happy with their progress and they are
looking much better then the first seeded onions.

After having such good luck with the second seeded onions I started
a second seeding of the shallots. They are doing well and again looking
much better then the first seeding of shallots. I think I had the first
batch to far from the light.

Finally these are the Hot Peppers I started in Feb. They are looking
great, to bad I didn't have the rest of the hot peppers to seed at the
same time as they would all be this big.

This evening I will thin all the seedlings indoors & out. I will also apply a weak solution of Wegener's Liquid Organic fertilizer to everything as well. I used this fertilizer last season and have been using it with every watering on the seedlings. I really like this fertilizer, it is a mix of blood & bone meal from fish as well as a bunch of other stuff. It doesn't cause excess growth like chemical fertilizers can and has the benefit of building your soil as well.

I will end with one more note on the onions. Since I have start new onions I will have much less plant stock so I am going to try some sets as well. I picked up shallots at the grocery store and will pot them up in the coldframe very soon. From what I have read one shallot bulb will multiply into a clump of 5-8 bulbs by fall. Should be an interesting experiment. I will also pick up some yellow storage onion sets from the store once they are available.