By this time onion, garlic, parsley and carrot should have bees sowed. There were years when by this time the work was already done but global warming is showing. We had a very mild winter and this week we got some snow as well, which is not exactly what we want. Next week there will be a day with heavy rain, which again makes us postpone the work as wet land is not suitable for sowing.
From Seeds To Seedlings
However, nothing is lost yet and as usual, just like in other years, we're starting the work indoors. So far we have sowed paprika or pepper seeds, four types I believe.
We used plastic trays, that is basically reusing these trays which previously contained meat. I don't see why throw these away as are perfect for this purpose. To create greenhouse effect, we always cover the tray with plastic. The plastic stops the water from evaporating and accelerates grow. Again, you can use a plastic bag in which you bought bread, no need to buy new one. Recycle, reuse, repurpose, remember?
Seeds are of many types and their growth differ as well. What you see in the photo above are two types of pepper and are already growing nicely, although in the upper tray there are a few missing. It's frustrating, but considering the possibilities, this is still good.
This is another tray with another type of pepper, in which only two seeds are growing successfully. It's not all lost yet, but there's very little chance to see the other seeds sprouting. There's a fourth tray in which none of the seeds are sprouting.
The problem here is time, as always. You sow the seeds, wait two or three weeks till the seeds start sprouting and in case they didn't, you need to start the whole thing all over again and there are no guarantees you get a different result. In that case you go to the farmers market and buy seedlings, but that's always risky as they sell you whatever they have just to make some money and you may end up a couple of month later with something totally different from what you wanted. It happened before, so this is a risk you have to take. Sometimes you're lucky, other times you lose.
Repotting Seedlings
It's a little bit early, but the next step is repotting seedlings, to give the necessary space for each one. We bought this big tray for that purpose.
Because we have limited space here, we cut the tray in half and placed it on another tray that will help drain the excess water.
These pots are taller and just perfect to allow the seedlings to grow strong roots. These pots are the last one, after that the seedlings will be planted outside, hopefully in a month.
This is just a tiny part of what we usually grow. At my dad's place him and the neighbor have a greenhouse, where all the seedlings are grown. That is going to be set up next week if I'm not mistaken.
My Flower Garden
Each year I'm growing flowers on my tiny balcony for fun. It's nice to decorate whatever space you have with flowers and when the weather is appropriate, I'm growing flowers outside. Because of the limited space, I need to be careful what flowers I choose.
Three packs of seeds are from last year, the black pansy is new and the seeds on the left are harvested by me last September from where my aunt lives. I love harvesting seeds, that's the real cycle in my book.
This is what I have this year. Two types of pansies, black and yellow- red. The other is a mix of petunia and the morning glory.
The seeds are Mirabilis jalapa, my late grandmother's favorite flower and mine too.
The flowers usually open from late afternoon or at dusk (namely between 4 and 8 o'clock), giving rise to one of its common names. Flowers then produce a strong, sweet-smelling fragrance throughout the night, then close for good in the morning. New flowers open the following day. source
As you can see, it's an interesting flower, not exactly for balcony and small places, but let's hope it's going to grow nicely. I can't wait to see it, I'll be back with photos if things go well.
Organic Fertilizer
This is a new entry, have never used it before and was bought by accident. My dad hasn't paid attention and thought it's simple soil, then ant home he saw it's organic fertilizer mixed with soil, that needs further mixing with soil before use. It's not a waste as there's room for it for seedlings.
The good thing about it is that it's organic and has long term effect, it lasts for 5 month, which is basically 60% - 70% of the season. We are doing organic gardening, no chemicals, so it's perfect. I'd like to use it for flowers but it's not recommended and won't risk it.
What's Next?
This week I need to sow the flower seeds and make sure I get some nice seedlings. The pepper seedlings have to be repotted soon, but they need a little bit of growing. You can only do the repotting when they have more than 2 leaves, like 4 and look strong enough. These, although have 4 leaves already, need more growing.
At my dads, in the real garden the greenhouse needs to be set up, the neighbor is already working on it, but sowing will only happen after next week. The upcoming week will be very wet and unsuitable for sowing onion sets and garlic, but fingers crossed, maybe the week after that will be ok.
In the meantime this is my lovely orchid, always flowering this time of the year. This is the fifth year I have it and take good care of it as I know how sensitive it is. One year, in 2018 I moved the flower while budding and lost all the buds, one by one, before it could open. That was a tough lesson, I had to learn from my mistake, since then i don't move the flower, always put it back to the same place after watering it.
