Seedling Menagerie

Here are the herbs that I have started. They are in plastic cups as I had a major mishap with the newspaper pots going moldy. These are currently occupying a large section of my porch, which I'm sure my mailcarrier loves... I can't wait till they get big enough to transplant and I can give away the extras.

I swear I only sowed two marjoram seeds per cup. I have no idea why there are so many seedlings! Some careful division will be needed. Luckily I have a friend who loves marjoram, it's the secret ingredient in her Thanksgiving stuffing.

My super sophisticated labeling system for seed starting.

Plastic bottle cloches serve two purposes here. They provide some extra humidity and warmth for the little seedlings. Even more importantly they protect them from the squirrels who just LOVE to dig in my containers.

Columbine as well as some NOID volunteer seedlings. Only time will tell.

Some new tomato seedlings just popped up today!

I can't wait to see these dahlias in bloom. They are one of my favorite flowers and I am planning to dig up the tubers in the fall and storing them for next year. I did grow them last year but did not know you could save them. These are the watercolor silk variety from Renee's Garden.

Some Italian parsley peeking out of the soil. Did not have great luck growing this last year, hopefully better seeds (Renee's Garden as opposed to Burpee) and better gardening knowledge will lead to better parsley! Made the plant tags out of the pieces of blinds that my cat snapped off to make a viewing window.

The one herb I was most proud of last summer was my chives. They just did not stop! I had fresh chives in everything, I would just nip outside and trim them down. I never let them flower however, this year I am planning on allowing the to flower before cutting them all the way down.

These mini sunflowers are going to be adorable. Need to find more bottles for cloches to protect them from the squirrels, they really like these seedlings and I lost a whole pot full.

Cucumbers! I will thin them to one plant when they get bigger. I can't wait to harvest these, cucumbers are one of my favorite veggies.

R.I.P. Seedlings

My early started seeds that I murdered. The newspaper pots started growing some mold so I applied a baking soda spray to take care of it. Much too strong for the little guys and most of them sadly did not make it. However it did take care of that mold! Thankfully the spray worked great on my gardenia that was seriously stressed out. Bottom shelf holds some ranunculus bulbs that I got at the dollar store so I started them inside to see if they were duds. 9 out of 10 came up! Then my cat ate them. :(

Columbines started in eggshells. I started two seeds per egg, only three germinated, two of which were in the same egg. They are now planted in a box under cloches. Hopefully I started them early enough so they can flower this year!

Violas and Petunias, luckily a few of them survived and are now happily growing outside.

Tomato seedlings that bit the dust. So sad. On a side note, I love when the leaves pop up with the shell of the seed still attached.

Post-Bulb Lull

The beginning of spring has come and gone, as have the profusion of early flowering spring bulbs. While a few of the muscari remain all thats left of the other bulbs are their foliage. My daffodils disappeared prematurely, as they were all decapitated and shredded by the savages that live in my neighborhood. I kept a more watchful eye on the tulips and cut them all before they could be damaged.

Even a few crocus managed to avoid becoming squirrel food. I planted a mixed bag and strangely enough the only survivors were all white with stripes. Maybe the squirrels don't like those ones. I figured the muscari would be safe since they are so small and weird and would be unappealing to people who don't enjoy their eccentricities. Most of them made it, however I did discover after coming home from Easter dinner that an entire row of them had been stripped of their little bells, much like shelling peas from a pod. I don't really know what to do about keeping people from destroying my plants. They are so much worse that the squirrels who love to dig up my seedlings and eat my bulbs.

As for my current complete lack of blooms, I think the solution is to not murder all my early started seedlings, and get more bulbs for next year!