Adventures From Seed

I haven't bought any seedlings this year.  I've been doing it all from seed, with varying degrees of success.

Failures first.  Either it's too warm or the seeds are too old, but I can't get any carrots to sprout.  There are two left.  I've been reseeding the chives every two weeks for over a month, and have yet to get a sprout.

I did get one more fennel to come up.  Really, that spot was more weed control than caring if I got another fennel, but I'll take it.  The four others are finally taking off.  I guess they needed more warmth. What has really benefitted from the weather is the watermelon.  No surprise, it likes a sunny day.  One plant in particular is getting strong.  The rest are thinking about it.

The most successful is the Roma tomatoes.  I planted one in the back yard big pot and another in the front yard.  The pot is doing better, as expected, and started to flower.  I should have tomatoes in a month or two, depending on the weather.

As for stuff that hasn't died yet, all the artichokes are still alive.  Some are larger than others, but I kind of knew which ones were in better soil and planted the stronger seedlings where I expected the best results.  I didn't get any blueberries this year before the squirrels did, but it is by far my best crop of boysenberries to date.  I have to check the plant every couple of days, and have left a few on there too long.  They hide.  And have thorns.  Eggy is still putting out an occasional eggplant.  If she ever dies, I'm going to seed celery in the pot.  I learned my lesson about celery root systems.  If she's still flourishing in October, I'll just buy another pot.

I planted a few beets and some cucumber last week, again as weed suppression.  The cucumbers were also because I'm kind of getting tired of beets, and needed something in that space.  They're supposed to be pickling cucumbers that grow more in a bush than vine, which will work with the space I have left and not run into the watermelon.  I'll just put tomato cages around them to act as a trellis.  Cart before the horse; they have to germinate first.