The seedlings have really taken off with last week's warm, sunny days. We have lots of seedlings growing quickly, new growth daily, and lots of newly germinating flats under the lights. My seed starting routine has not changed these last couple years. For Spring transplants, I start by over-seeding open flats and then put them under the lights to wait for germination. Once the little ones have started to develop their first true leaves, I pot them on into large cell-type flats where they will continue to grow into full sized transplants. This method is time consuming and uses a lot of growing mix, but for now it helps save valuable space in the greenhouse and under the lights...which saves me money. This method seems to work just fine for the quick growing brassica crops, like broccoli, kale, and cabbage. It also is a favorable method for tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers which grow very tall and require a strong stem.
Flats of Red Russian kale in their new home. They will grow quickly now.
Work at the farm is picking up now and we should be tilling the fields soon! Then, there will be more rocks to pick...yay! I love this part of the year, looking out at the greening fields envisioning all the crops that will quickly fill the space. My pace around the farm these days is slow, contemplative. But I can picture the mid-season bustle of trying to race the sun clearly now.
The garlic is pushing through the straw! Its about 6-8" tall now! As it grows,
I'll add more straw mulch to keep the weeds down.
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