People keep asking us why we started gardening as it takes so much effort and all our free time. I'm not going to mention all our reasons, but certainly we wanted to make sure that we eat top quality vegetables and we also wanted to spend more time in nature combined with some physical activity. However, the biggest reason was to show that you can do organic and veganic gardening at low cost.
Our harvest last year was more than satisfying. Yes, we spent all summer in the garden, but we enjoyed our own food until end of November, and even during the coldest winter months we had lamb's lettuce, leeks and carrots growing in the greenhouse. Now, when we showed that it is possible the argument changed and many people claim that it would not be doable at a larger scale. Looks like I need to purchase a big farm to show them again! 😊 I'm just kidding because if I would do it they would come with another challenge again.
My biggest pride were these snack colourful pepper. I love them so much, so I was very happy when the plants kept producing them. This photo is from last year, already used in another post.
When you want to enjoy your own produce, you need to plant your seeds early in the year. You can also buy your seedlings, but the prices are high, so I prefer to start my own. Last year, I had many different kinds of peppers to see what will work in our area, and in the end I will settle with these two. I tried to grow bell peppers, but the season is too short for them to become red and sweet. The red pepper below is faster to grow and it's also easy to preserve for winter. The green pepper is crunchy, but not too fleshy which is what I prefer.
I'm also trying to start physalis at home although I haven't been successful yet. I'm still waiting for the seeds to sprout. I hope to get at least a couple of plants as they take a lot of space in the garden and produce many berries. It's a great vitamin boost that you can keep on your kitchen counter for up to 6 months without rotting, so it will easily last you until the end of winter. Well, unless you eat them all before which I think would happen.
And tomatoes! When I was a child I was getting nauseous when I smelled tomatoes. I couldn't be in the same room with someone eating them. Today, I love them! I wouldn't just take a bite, but I love them chopped, cooked, baked or canned. I can't imagine a good sandwich without tomato slices now!
Last year, I only planted two kinds of tomatoes, but this year I have eight! I forgot to add the last one to the photo 😊
As you can see it's a variety of shapes and colours, and I'm happy just seeing those packages. I will keep the cherry tomatoes on the balcony because last year they loved it there, and it's also great to have tomatoes when you feel like eating a bruschetta RIGHT NOW.
Let's see how I start my seedlings at home.
First of all, I use some compost that I mix with universal soil. This combination gives enough nutrients for the seedlings. We have compost in the garden, but for this purpose I like to purchase it from the garden centre because the one in the garden is too wet in February.
I set up my working station on the dining table 😊
I mix compost with soil in a glass bowl. Well, I don't buy any fancy equipment and try to use what I have at home already, so this bowl must be enough.
I transfer the soil into plastic containers and make small holes with a chopstick. The holes are about two centimetres deep and I put one seed in each hole with tweezers. This year, I don't have so many, but last year I planted around 1000 seeds. I had a lot of fun with tweezers!
Once the seeds are in I put a bit of the mixture on top and tap it down with a spoon - as I said I'm only using tools that I already have at home.
Those plastic containers are from the meals that my mother-in-law packs for us when we go back home to Switzerland.
I water the soil evenly and cover it with a plastic wrap. Then I make some holes with a toothpick to help air circulation and set it in a sunny spot.
After a week, some seeds sprouted, other seeds needs a bit of time. From my experience I can say that the easiest to sprout are the common tomato varieties. The peppers and special varieties come a bit later.
When they sprout you need to remove the plastic wrap and turn around the containers every day because they keep reaching for the sun and grow in towards the window.
After two weeks, all seeds except of physalis have sprouted. I'm losing my hope with physalis, but who knows. It might still come.
Let's see what we got!
I have planted 80 chilli seeds this year. Last year, we had around 150 plants in total and it was way too much, so 80 should be just about right. They need a few more days and then I will replant them in small pots where they will wait for their final planting in the garden.
The peppers are also almost ready for replanting. They are so cute!
As predicted, the cherry tomatoes grow fast and I will replant them tomorrow, so that they don't become too leggy.
Standard tomatoes will be replanted tomorrow too. I'm happy to see that I will have enough plants.
Heirloom tomatoes are not so fast, but they will get there. I was sad to see that only five seeds have germinated, but the seeds were from two years ago, so the chances were that they would not come at all. It's actually a success that there are so many!
Looks like we will have some back tomatoes too...
I could show you all of the containers, but I guess it could get a bit boring.
There are many ways to start your seeds, and I'm sure that something else might work for you too. I'm starting my seedlings the way I learned when I was a child and it has never failed me 😊
I will make it easier for me this year because I will get the rest of the seedlings from the garden centre. I planted kohlrabi, cauliflower and broccoli from a seed before, but it's impossible to create the right conditions, so the seedlings were not strong enough.
I'll show you the replanting too!
Happy gardening!
See you next time...