The cabbage and pepper plants I planted a few weeks ago are up and thriving.
I planted two varieties of cabbage: Bismark and Copenhagen. Both sprouted quickly and started shooting up towards the light.
In fact they were growing so fast I moved them from the small seed starting cells to larger pots. I’ll leave the cabbage plants in the bigger pots until I plant them in the garden.
The peppers are growing much slower as is typical for peppers. It took longer for all the pepper seeds to germinate and they are reaching for the light at small increments.
I started several pepper varieties: Shishito, Cayenne, Golden Marconi, Candy Cane, Habanada, California Wonder, Yolo Wonder, and Sweet Banana.
I hope to move the cabbage out to the greenhouse where they’ll be easier to take care of in the next week or so. I set them on the back deck for a few hours today and I swear that little bit of natural sunlight and fresh air made them look even better. The cabbage should be ready to plant in the garden by the second week in March if not sooner.
I plan to share cabbage and pepper plants with Granny and Chatter.
I’m anxious to get beets and carrots planted. We will direct sow them in the garden. Planting carrots super early worked really well for us last year.
The next seedlings we’ll plant will be our tomatoes. Instead of worrying about starting them inside under the grow lights we’ll do all of them in the greenhouse. We usually do them about mid March. By that time the sun keeps the greenhouse warm enough for seed germination.
Our location on the north side of the mountain forces me to pay close attention to the sun as it goes across the sky at various times of the year. I love noticing the sun increasingly warming the greenhouse day by day as spring of the year gets closer and closer.
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your gonna be way ahead of all us Tipper. I haven’t thought about it yet It be awhile before we start planting.
One word – Jealous
This is the time of year when I start feeling restless about starting seeds, but it’s just too early here – only a few days ago it was -14F. If I had the space in the house and wanted to invest in grow-lights and raise my electric bill, I might try – but I’d better not. So I’ll enjoy watching your seedlings growing instead 🙂
Copenhagen? Is that for Matt or did he give that up, I hope?
Boy they came up fast as I knew they would. I can’t wait to see everything growing. I know it will be another beautiful and bountiful garden!!
I go out each morning to feed the cat and look at the many Greenstalks I have planted on our sunny driveway. For the last week, I’ve been pinching off delicious Hammerhead spinach leaves to eat for breakfast snack while I check out the new life beginning in my FL garden. Such a beautiful part of my morning and delicious now that the Hammerhead is producing it’s sweet leaves!
Your plants look good Tipper! I’m not seeding plants this year, which makes me sad. My husband wants to let our garden area rest this year. He wants to just plant store bought plants in the tubs I planted in last year. I had planted my garlic and onions back in late November as an experiment to see if I’d get bigger bulb harvest in late spring. So, at least I have that and if any volunteers that might pop up that I’ll try to nurture on my own. It won’t be the same for me, but we will see how his way works. You and Deer Hunter will have a great garden this year! I’ll be excited to see it grow!
Hi Tipper, I love looking at my seeds this time of year and wonder what I’m going to plant in the garden. I try to do something different every year, collards and turnip greens have been my favorite so far. Unfortunately, being a zone 3 (barely), the old time gardeners say not to plant your gardens until after May 24. So right now it’s far too early for us to start seedlings. I do enjoy seeing your cabbages coming up, so much life in those seeds!
Thank you Tipper
Beautiful! Seeds and plants are a wonderful and amazing thing. How could anyone see this common miracle and not believe in the Creator?
Tipper, those tiny cabbage are absolutely adorable with their tiny heart leaves saying hello and rise and shine! You do have a green thumb and growing know how!!! I’m certain your garden will thrive. As for me, I’ve got to stay calm over gardening. Last year was not too much fun because of the deer and unceasing rain. I’m going in with calmness and strategy this year. Pray it works. I have to keep in my mind, no two gardens are alike and no two gardens are ever the same…
We’ll all get to play in the dirt again soon! We’re prepping our garden with mulched-up leaves and composted manure – can’t wait to start planting!
Glad to hear your grow light and stand are working so well. The comment about soon starting your tomato seed made me think of both my mother and father in law. My father in law would use an old ice chest that he had filled with potting soil and plant all of his seed in it and cover the ice chest with a couple of glass window panes and let it set in the sun. In a short time the seeds would sprout. He would plant these bare root plants in a plowed out row and not stake the plants. My parents would do something similar. Most of the seed for other things was just direct sowed in the 1 acre or larger gardens. Both would have 5 gal buckets full of tomatoes. I have a scar above my ankle from trying to walk across an old window laid across mother’s seed bed when I was about 3 years old. Nobody has ever accused me of being smart! This was one the old time ways of doing things.
this will be my first year gardening in NC. it is going to be a learning experience for me as I have always gardener in zone 9b which is completely different from here. wish me luck
Amazing how fast some plants take off. I also love the Habanada Peppers. We ususally have a late frost in the spring time, sometime as late as mid or late March and I am wondering if it is too early to plant some seeds. I do not have a place in the house large enough to start seeds, so it is smaller greenhouse outside. Good on ya for what you have so far, as it is fun to see God grow things. We do like to travel along with you and Matt and the girls. God Bless.
Good morning Mrs. Tipper
New life is always a pleasure to see!
I am looking forward to seeing them grow strong for a successful crop 🙂
Blessings
Yay!!! Gardening feels so good to do! There is just something about dirt, seeds and the seasons that make my heart sing! It’s hard to put into words, but it makes me think of crack of dawn walks in the garden during the cool spring mornings, feeling the dew on the plants, and checking for seedlings popping through the ground overnight. And later in the season, feeling the early morning sun among the lushly producing plants – you know that kind of sunshine that foretells of the heat of the day coming later. And then, as the season comes to a close, smelling the garden debris smoldering on the ground as you burn it with the fall leaves, giving the ground the rich ashes full of nutrients to absorb over winter’s barrenness. I love your garden tales from beginning to end each year!
Donna. : )
It really gets tedious this time of year as you try to get everything up and going and in the right order! Those little plants are so fragile but coming along!
I don’t see how you do it – 8 kinds of pepper & 2 of cabbage. I have several of the same problems you do and I don’t even try for variety (though I would like to). I just do the tried and true. I may have to do that early seeding of carrots. I still have some from last year in the ground.