Project Veggie Garden, Day 28

While watering my seedlings, I realized I'm way overdue for a garden update, so here I am. A couple of weeks ago my seedlings were sunbathing on the kitchen table while my son played in the living room. All was well. I was actually surprised at how little he cared about them, since he gets into absolutely everything and can spot a new item in a room instantly. I had just changed Jackson's diaper and took it upstairs to deposit in the diaper pail with no real concern for my vulnerable little green babies sitting within his reach. You can see where this is going. I walked downstairs to find a grinning toddler amongst the remains of a seedling massacre. As sad and angry as I was, I couldn't be mad at him - he had no idea what was in that egg carton he pulled off the table, and he probably had a blast dumping soil and seedlings all over the first floor of my home. Somehow I managed to retrieve most of the seedlings off the floor and replant them in said carton shortly thereafter. I didn't have much hope that they would make it, but I had to try. Interestingly, the basil seedlings that had been dumped all over the house went on to fare much better than the unharmed carton that was sitting next to it. I can only assume they appreciated the fresh soil they received; aside from that, it's still largely a mystery to me. In any case, I still have 9 healthy basil seedlings that have since been transplanted to their own peat pots.

The lettuce seedlings aren't quite as resilient, sadly. We're down to 6 healthy lettuce seedlings from the 10 original. We are in the process of hardening them off for their move into the garden next week. With the cold streak and lack of sunshine this past week, it has not been ideal weather for these little guys. I am hoping that the seed starting chart isn't misleading us by recommending planting outdoors this early. On that note, we have delayed sowing the spinach seeds outdoors until next week due to snow and generally bad weather that sapped our confidence in starting on schedule. Here's hoping it starts looking like spring out there soon.

The eggplant and pepper seeds have emerged and are doing wonderfully! Somehow they appear to be thriving in this less-than-ideal seed-starting environment. They are all tall, dark green, and strong! Interestingly, the eggplant and pepper seedlings look so much alike, I can't tell them apart without reading my labels. I'm thinking they are going to need transplanted into something bigger soon, but for now they still look happy enough in their roomy toilet paper rolls.

I also started the cucumber seeds this week. I used the bottom of a plastic salad container for the tray this time, and I think it's my favorite seedling tray thus far. We have used clementine boxes, egg carton lids, and tissue boxes, and they all work fine. But the salad box seems to be just the right height and adds a little extra stability for the cardboard tubes.

Next week we will be sowing zucchini seeds indoors, and if the weather holds out, we'll be transplanting lettuce and sowing spinach and carrot seeds out back in our very own veggie garden. We're so excited! And scared! I'll tell you how it goes next week. 'Til then, be well!