I planted my first seedlings 2 weeks ago and Ohio’s winter weather is here regardless of whether it’s spring or not by the calendar. It seems like the average temperature is only like 33 degrees, but the sun is out some days so it raised the temperature in the cold frame. I have some germination now, but if we have some more days of sunshine, the hot weather seeds should germinate soon too.
I made my own seed starting mix this year and it is working out really well. My biggest beef with packaged seed starting mix is how dry it is and how difficult it is to get water to absorb into it without waiting for hours, and then waiting for it to dry out after absorbing too much water. My mix (4 parts compost, 1 part perlite, 1 part vermiculite, 2 parts peat) had moisture already in the components and holds the necessary moisture for my schedule. I work full time and some days I just forget to water the flats (oops!). Thankfully the cold frame is essentially a greenhouse so the moisture level stays relatively high, which definitely helps.
I planted my initial seeds about two weeks ago. I didn’t really plant based on what needed to be planted first. I planted based on what I had on hand. Probably not the best strategy, but I was really excited about getting seeds planted! I just planted the seeds I ordered that same weekend yesterday, again another mish-mash of different things. I have one more package of seeds coming, consisting mostly of tomatoes.
Hopefully spring will be coming soon so I can really get into it the garden and do more. I’ve felt so cooped up with the cold so I’m looking forward to the sunshine and short sleeves.
The Corporate Gardner Blog 