The broccoli is ready to go in the ground. It’s been so wet & rainy I just hope I’m not too late in putting it there.
The broccoli is up! I planted 18 newspaper pots… All but a few have sprouted. Just planted 18 more tonight… can you tell we like broccoli?
It’s been 3 weeks since I planted this flower bed (pictured here). All seeds are up and growing. At this stage things always seem slow going, but tis the nature of direct planting seeds I guess. It’s not the instant gratification you get when buying plants from a nursery.
I planted 4 mounds of pumpkins last week. The name escapes me but it’s the kind that will make pumpkin pie. Yum! All seedlings are up.
Painters tape made for excellent labeling material. Reason #312 why it’s handy having a painter in the house!
The seedlings spent the weekend getting used to the outdoors. Pictured are a combination of tomatoes, herbs, peppers, eggplant and flowers.
My indoor “under the light” space is always limited each spring when I start my seeds. I end up cramming as many pots as I can in each tray.
The only draw back when using the newspaper pots is the ripping. Every year I re-learn this lesson when I start to separate the plants. Ideally, the pots should not be touching when you start the seeds. Not only can the roots merge, but the newspaper becomes weaker.
With that said, I carefully separate the pots when they go outside to harden off. It’s best if the seedlings are a tad on the dry side that day so the tearing is minimal.
Maybe I’m growing hardy stuff, but everything makes it through and I always end up with double the plants that I need or have room for. Anybody want a free plant?
I’ve been making and using newspaper pots for three years. They are really easy to make and are a super cheap option when growing your own plants from seed. The wooden potmaker can me found here.
