The plants are growing slowly in Germany, partly because of the cold weather we have been having. However, I can feel that tulips and spring flowers are growing little by little.
Since I wrote about the balcony and the work I did for it in the middle of this week, today I'm going to write about the mistakes I've already made this season. Learning by doing, that's gardening!
I started growing peppers at the beginning of February and wrote about it in my first garden journal of the season.
[Garden Journal 2024 - Feb 11 Starting Chillis / Record of garden work](@akipponn/garden-journal-2024-feb-11-starting- chillis-)
But I can't get the peppers to germinate almost at all...! Really few of them did germinate, but the germination rate is very poor compared to previous years.
I am trying to separate the problem and find the cause in the following three possible reasons.
- The temperature of the heat mat was too high.
- The seeds were old.
- There was a problem with the kitchen paper placed under the seeds.
The temperature of the heat mat was higher than the stated 30 degrees Celsius, so I put down fabric to prevent the temperature from rising too high and re-sowed the chili seeds. To verify what was the cause of the problem, it is an ironclad rule to change the conditions one by one, but there were only 5 seeds of Chalapita, a high quality pepper, left... so I sowed them in soil in a terracotta tray.
Some of the seeds were previously bought, but some were ordered this year, so I don't think the seeds were too old. The seed store is one that I order seeds every year and would trust.
And the thing I am most suspicious of is the kitchen paper. I changed to recycled ones a while ago and they are different from the ones I used previous years. Only a few lettuce sprouted on this kitchen paper (without heat mats) and the microgreens are not growing well on it.
It's in a way late to sow peppers and I learned to do germination tests in January. But luckily they are perennials, so I'm patiently waiting for the weather to warm up and plan to plant them in pots and letting them grow slowly like trees, even if I don't harvest them this year.
The one I am hoping for the most success is the edible chrysanthemum, which I thinned out and put outside. I want to cook it several times with tofu or in miso soup before it gets warmer. I will definitely grow them indoors this fall/winter 💪
One good news is that the Japanese Sansho tree, which I thought had died because I forgot to take it indoor, is alive and leafing out. Good to know that it can overwinter outdoors if there is a roof over it.
Next week I'm going to take some time to maintain the community garden for the first time this season. I was passing by the other day and found a daffodils weas blooming and the rhubarb was sprouting. I felt as if I was being called 😊
That's it. Next week I will finally sow the highlight of our summer vegetables, tomato seeds 🍅 🍅 🍅 🍅 🍅
Have a great Sunday everyone!
~~~
ドイツはここのところ寒いこともあって植物の成長はゆっくりです。でも日々ちょっとずつチューリップや春咲の花が育って行っているのを実感します。
今週は半ばにバルコニーの様子や今週した作業については書いたので、今日は今季すでにやらかした失敗について書こうと思います。Learning by doing, that's gardening! です😉
2月のはじめに唐辛子の栽培を始めて、今季最初のガーデンジャーナルを書きました。
Garden Journal 2024 - Feb 11 Starting Chillis / 庭仕事の記録
でも、全然唐辛子が発芽しないのです・・・！いくつかは発芽したものの、例年と比べてものすごく発芽率が悪いのです。
原因として考えられるのは以下の3点で問題を切り分けて原因を見つけようとしています。
- ヒートマットの温度が高すぎた
- 種が古かった
- 種の下に保湿目的でしいたキッチンペーパーに問題があった
ヒートマットについては記載温度の30度よりも高く、温度が上がりすぎないように布を敷いて、唐辛子の種をまき直しました。何が原因だったか検証するには、一つずつ条件を変えていくのが鉄則なのですが、Chalapitaという高級唐辛子の種はもう残り5粒・・・ということで、土にまきました。
以前買った種もありましたが、今年注文した種もあり、種が古かったということはないと思います。種苗店は毎年利用している信用できるであろうお店です。
そして、私が最も疑っているのはキッチンペーパーです。少し前にリサイクルのものに変えて、去年使っていたものと違います。このキッチンペーパーの上にまいたレタスは数粒発芽したのみ（ヒートマットなし）、マイクログリーンの育ちもイマイチです。
とはいえ唐辛子は多年草なので、暖かくなってから普通にポットにまいて、今年は収穫できなくても木のようにゆっくり育ててもいいかなと気長にかまえています。
目下一番成功してほしいのは春菊で、先日間引いて、外に出しました。本葉が見えつつあり、暖かくなる前に何度か甘辛く豆腐と煮たり、お味噌汁に入れたりしたいな。この秋冬は絶対屋内で育てます💪
あと、もう一つうれしいニュースは、家に取り込むのを忘れて枯れてしまったかなと思っていた山椒が生きていて、葉っぱが出てきました。屋根があれば屋外で越冬できることがわかりよかったです。
来週は久しぶりにまとめて時間をとってコミュニティガーデンの手入れをしようしようと思います。先日通りかかった時に水仙が咲いていたり、ルバーブが芽を出していたりで、呼ばれているような気がしたのです😊
それではみなさんよい日曜日を！来週はいよいよ夏野菜のハイライト、トマトの種をまきます。