March Garden Update and Seedlings

My blog and my plants have both become a bit neglected thanks to a happy addition to our family. I have a new garden helper! Meet Dizzy. We adopted him through Dog Gone Seattle and if you are looking for a furry family member, they are wonderful.

Dizzy and Ella

The seedlings I planted at the end of January are doing well. I saw the first signs of life after about 4 days. See germination updates here.

February 2

February 2

Around the middle of February, I potted up the tomatoes, tomatillos, cucumbers, watermelon and melon to plastic drinking cups with holes punched in the bottom using regular potting soil. I moved them to the greenhouse which is now heated and they are coming along nicely. I keep them in plastic storage bins to make watering and moving them around easier.

March 5

As for everything else....well they spent way too long in the seedling trays. What can I say, new puppies are really exciting! I potted up the peppers, eggplants and any extra tomatoes I had left on Tuesday (3/6) and they don't seem too worse for wear though I was cutting it close with the tomatoes. The lettuce and leeks moved to a box like the one I used for my onions and the rest of the leafy stuff moved to 4 inch terracotta pots. I think I will skip the seed trays for lettuce and leeks next year and plant directly in the wooden boxes. It will be less work and give them more room to grow if I get distracted again.

Now that the seed trays are empty, I'll be starting more things this week. I want to get all the herbs going as soon as possible. I love how the shot cups worked. I like that I could reorganize and remove any duds so I doubt I will ever buy another seeding tray.

Out in the garden, I have been working on clearing the last of the jungle mess sections. I worked on clearing sod in the raised bed paths to prepare for gravel and pulled up the last of the horrible blackberries that were behind the chicken coop. Hopefully it really is the last of it.

I've been raking and cleaning up so things are starting to look nice. I'm looking forward to getting some mulch for the ornamental areas because it will really start to look like spring. The daffodils are close to blooming and the tulips are coming up though I need to make a fence to keep the rabbits out. The rhubarb is going pretty crazy and the artichokes are growing steadily despite my ongoing battle with slugs.

Glaskins Perpetual Rhubarb, 3/8

Violet de Provence Artichoke, 3/8