Nice! I just transplanted a few Chinense this AM, waiting for the rest to get some true leaves. I'll start broccoli on March 15, and then tomatoes on April 1.

So which hot peppers did you start?

I have ghost peppers (in the picture) that sprouted and I just planted Carolina Reapers, Serrano and early Jalapeños.

Pansies? I just planted some seed in the soil mix, today. They are in a container with some petunias and it has been a decade or more since I've grown either one. I don't know why that is although I was disappointed in the seed selection at the local garden center. Years ago, I had some real special varieties - don't remember where I purchased them. (But, DW buys the plants every year - this year, I'm trying to get ahead of her. ;o)

Peppers are already in the kitchen on top of the refrigerator. This year, since I have had some trouble starting pepper seed, I moved a thermometer around the kitchen trying to find the warmest location. Can't seem to do any better than under the cabinet, on top of the fridge. They will be alright up there and I'm likely to have okay germination but some of them will delay while others get ahead of them - intermittent emergence with more trouble, the more varieties grown.

Celeriac seed is also up there and some tomato and eggplant varieties joined them. Nothing has emerged so far as this has been only about a week but I check twice a day. There's room in the South Window and it is supposed to be a sunny week.

Oh, onion, leek and shallot seed went into a flat of soil mix about the 20th of February. That's later than I have ever had the onions started since I've been sowing seed in the greenhouse. It was a real wait for seed orders. I suspected that would happen and don't really blame the companies. No impatient emails from me ... that it was a chilly & cloudy February also made me more tolerant. I'm just running a little late for those things and won't turn on the heat in there for about 3 weeks.

More tomatoes and such - soon!

Steve

DeZi - I hope to have a few peppers to trade if you may want any - some new to me, some from 2020. I'm hoping for Reaper x Scotch Brain, red Scotch Brain, yellow Papa Dreadie, maroon Trinidad Scorpion Moruga for hots. New to me are Giant Sweet Devil's Horn orange and Buena Mulata - not hots. Hoping also to have lots of Fresnos and Anaheims.

Don't know if we're planning for a swap this year. Hope so.

@tomatoz1,
I would totally be up for swapping. I think we can hopefully figure out something for a swap this year. If it's outside in a parking lot or something. Parks are opening. Thornton has sign-ups but I don't know if they have any restroom facilities. Westminster is first come first serve and Arvada doesn't have public bathrooms.

Wow, you guys are doing great getting going! I just started going through my seeds, and seeing what my soil and container needs are. Maybe I'll get started this weekend. Would love it if we can work out a swap this year!! I think a park is a great idea, DeZi.

I’d love a swap this year too!,

It's difficult to believe that these tiny babies:

might someday in 2021 become these:

Steve

(There are ..

. some cute ..

. Serrano peppers just to the East of those. ;o)

tomatoz1,

I grew Buena Mulata in a pot on my porch last year. It grew well with tons of colorful little peppers. Plant is somewhat spindly. I thought they were somehwat hot.

I just started 11 varieites of tomatoes March 3 that are bound for the WOWs in April.

Jerry

Great to know the Buena Mulata has some heat - I’m planning to use them in dill pickles for my brother. It looks like they’re comparable to cayennes in heat.

With quite a lot of recent sunshine and warmth, there are onions and such in the unheated greenhouse. Here are some of the "such:"

Shallot seed has always worked just fine direct-sown in the garden. The harvest is later than putting out sets but that's okay. However, this open-pollinated shallot may be able to make seeds in 2022 and I didn't want to "cheat it" with a short 2021 growing season. New-to-me

The Rally Leeks are also something new-to-me. Years ago, I wasn't sure that I could grow leeks, at all. They are never much of a problem.

You can see the coarseness of the standard Black Gold potting soil. I've used it just about forever for most everything but with the production of their new starting mix, the standard has become coarser. I think that they are trying to tell me to BUY both!

Steve

My uncle was singing the praises of the Early Jalapeno and thought it produced all summer. Has anyone had that result here? If so I'm thinking I should try and find one of those plants or some seeds to start.

DeZi Lo,

You inspired me with the basil last year. We planted sweet basil, Greek Oregeno, Garlic Chives and Italian Dark Green Parsey in Jan. We had been over wintering a basil plant and a chive plant in the house but kept harvesting them too much so we decided to get some more started in mid Jan.

I am also looking to get the Brunnera you mentioned to me last year for a shady spot under the tree.

Jerry,

I decided to try and grow the yellow zucchini from seed. Luckily I put a link to them in an old post. I have the following coming from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

• Zucchini Golden Squash
• Jalapeño, Pumpkin Spice Pepper
• Jalapeno, Tam Pepper
• Blue Boy Bachelor's Button
• Mammolo Basil
• Sweetheart Cherry Tomato

We started some tomato's but the only a few sprouted, probably due to the tray being too wet. Had to throw most of the tray out. The ones that sprouted we think are Celebration Hybrid Tomato. My husband picked the seeds up at Walmart. I just checked the reviews and there aren't many. With only 1 out of 5 good so we will have to see... I may have to rely on others for tomatoes again. But hopefully with the above we will have some good things to trade.

I think we should have a swap. If everyone gets vaccinated then it should be safe.

I have had good, productive seasons with Early Jalapeno.

They were longer seasons.

(I can't quite say "all summer" ;o)

Steve

I got seeds planted last weekend, and getting sprouts on most things :) So nice to see, especially today with this winter blast!! Seeds/seedlings nice and cozy inside in the front bay window.

More tomatoes

Their big sisters will need to go in 4-pack inserts soon, then on to 3 1/2" pots.

Steve

My seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds are due today. The plant trays came a couple of days ago so we should be able to get some in and going this weekend. Given our previous failure we have been researching on-line what we did wrong but appreciate any local tips anyone would care to share. :-)

I just checked on the David Phlox seeds I ordered from Etsy. Looks to be delayed in transit.

Mmmm12CO, a big part of gardening is timing. I bet we’ve all been too anxious to start and then wound up with too tall or too leggy plants. Plus many seeds need bottom heat to sprout, plus good lighting.

Thanks tomatoz.

Our first batch did well. We put them under a table in our south facing sunroom and covered them with the cardboard from the tray to keep them out of the direct sun. We have infloor radiant heat so they were heated every night. After sprouting we took off the cover and transplanted them into bigger pots. Also moved them to the table top and in direct sun. We transplanted the whole peat pot and have now read that might not be a good idea.

The second set got too much water and the lid was not removed enough to check so they molded. Also used the peat pots.

This is time we are doing clear plastic trays with no peat pots and adjustable holes on top. We need to get some new seed starting soil. Hopefully we are learning enough to make this next batch a success. Any tips on a good growing soil?

I remember reading on a greenhouse company website that each layer of either plastic or glass reduces sunlight by about 10%.

Using that reasoning, plastic has been used to limit direct sunlight for new seedlings - like those in the picture I posted yesterday. So, there are 2 pieces of glass on the South Window plus the plastic lid on the cookie box set at an angle to allow ventilation. This is the "situation" for only a day or two.

The same company that makes Black Gold also makes Sunshine mixes. At one time, it was a local Pacific Northwest company. Now, it is greatly expanded. There are soooo many soil mixes ... What I think that I must do in the future is to go ahead and buy a sterile mix to start. I have used that for cuttings alone (and used perlite), however - I need to keep-it-simple-steve! Once, a "casual" purchase of a brand that I had never used before nearly ruined my gardening year. I was in a great hurry to re-sow and begin again!

Steve

mmmm50CO, sounds like you're dedicated and ready for a great garden. What seeds are you planting now? Most of my seeds go in the ground in May rather than starting seedlings - I just don't have enough room under the lights for everyone. I'm sure gjcore will have great suggestions, too.

Be careful with the new soils from the store. Last year my peppers were infested with gnats. This year I started them in my transplant soil - Fox Farms Ocean Forest. There are so many great soils for sale. You really can't go wrong with most of them.

Best of luck with your gardening endeavors.

For seed starting I usually use Jiffy but if that is out I'll use burpee or miracle gro. I've had challenges using coco coir as in everything is stunted. Never been a fan of using peat pots because they dry out too rapidly. For some seedlings that grow fast (tomatoes) I'll use outdoor potting mixes and larger containers. I figure they're going to need to be potted up so might as well start them in a larger container for the get go.

Tomatoz1,

I have the following coming today:

• Zucchini Golden Squash
• Jalapeño, Pumpkin Spice Pepper
• Jalapeno, Tam Pepper
• Blue Boy Bachelor's Button
• Mammolo Basil
• Sweetheart Cherry Tomato

Coming soon:

• David Phlox

Have on-hand:

• Summerlong Basil
• Sweet Basil

I will try to grow some of each of them.

Most of the Bachelor's Buttons will go into the garden directly. I'm tempted to put a few in pots so I can see what they look like young. Last year I bought some on-line as plants and the rabbits wiped them out. So not sure if they will grow for me or not in the garden.

I really love the tall Garden Phlox that I got from you a couple of years ago. We've since added some other tall Garden Phlox and I've read that David was a good one so wanted to try it. They aren't sending many seeds so I thought I'd try to get it going in pots as opposed to directly sowing it in the yard.

@Tomatoz1
if you get a gnat problem again, use Thuricide, (BT) every 2 weeks. I just top water to make sure the top inch of the soil is wet and put it in any stagnant water. It will kill the larvae that grow in the soil. it is also used to prevent mosquito larvae and bud worms. (FYI don't use on your pollinator plants outside, you don't want to kill the caterpillars). It's organic and causes no harm to humans.

Thanks, Desi, I will definitely have some on hand for the tomato sowing next week. Right now I’m using Neem oil that is helping the pepper plants be rid of many of the pests. I’ve been reading about using Neem as a soil drench also. Not using that yet, just doing a lot of reading. Ever tried Neem? I used some last summer on the dreaded Japanese Beetles and hope to use it again this year as it did work well.

One year I grew my plants in diatomaceous earth - tomatoes loved it, peppers did not. No bugs that year.

@tomatoz1 yes I have used neem before. didn't have any luck with trying to get rid of mildew on squash plants. I have quite the arsenal for combating bugs. I have insecticidal soap, some of the Jack's bug dust and other pellets and diatomaceous earth is a must for our earwig problem. I have to use it surrounding our doors so they stay outside.

Dezi,

I have had some luck with mildew by first spraying with baking soda to kill the existing mildew then follow-up with Neem to try to prevent new mildew.

jerry

Thanks Jerry! that is a great tip. I want to try patty pan squash again.

DeZi - when the summer squash begins to flower, I foliar feed the squash leaves with a 10% solution of milk to water. I imagine it would help the cucumbers, too. I put in 1 cup of milk, fill the gallon jug w/water, then ’slosh’ the solution over the plant. Baking soda should work too. Preventative measure, before you see the mildew.

Sorry about the earwig problem. we don’t see many of them in the garden unless it rains.

The First Tomato seeds in the mix were ready for 4-packs:

Peppers were moved this morning. Those puny Celery Root seedlings shown above, also. Bok Choy joined the onions & such in the greenhouse. More tomatoes & peppers soon!

Steve

Some of the peppers

Steve

tomatoz1, how did you use the neem oil against the Japanese beetles? Last year they really infested one of my grape vines. Yet they left the other ones mostly alone so I'll be looking for something to fight back with this year. From the infested grapevine last year we still had a good harvest but I suspect it at least weakened the vine somewhat due to a big loss of leaves.

Gjcore, we had Japanese beetles on the hyssop plant in 2019 and I figured they’d be back. As a preventative, I sprayed Neem on the leaves before I saw the beetles. My neighbor had a horrible infestation of them on her green beans. She used the same spray Neem and was very pleased with the outcome. I did spray again when I saw the beetles, and then picked them off into a bucket of soapy water.

I hope this helps.

I use neem and insecticidal soap for the same purpose, mostly to control aphids or spider mites.

The jury is still out on fungal infection but there are other choices for me in the ornamental garden. Black spot on zinnias, mildew on zinnias and dahlias - it was very ineffective by comparison when I tried it.

A caution: both the soap and neem can make plants vulnerable to sunscald. Neem-sprayed plants seem especially so. Use it towards evening and, unless you are really looking for a repellent, rinse the plants before midday. Aphids and spider mites are not very mobile creatures.

Steve

Just about maxed out South Window

This is our first year doing seeds and we are so pleased! 4 out of the 6 yellow zucchinis we planted sprouted. The first three are in this picture along with 2 tomato plants.

The tomato plants are doing beautifully. We have 3 types, Celebrity hybrid, an unnamed roma and an unnamed cherry. My husband threw out the labels and did not write down the names. So we have these two trays of them, unlabeled.

I'm guessing if he doesn't get at least one of each type of plant in the garden then next time he will remember to label them. LOL.

We did have 4 out of 6 Sweetheart Cherry's sprout. Those are still tiny and will be labelled. We needed to do all red tomatoes this year since it is too hard for us to tell when the other colors are ripe. :-)