Seed Sprouts and Frost-bitten Tulips and Hollyhock…

I had another hot pepper plant sprout. I have no idea what peppers these will be because they came in a blend packet without separation or designation. I kind of like that, though. Sort of getting an added surprise to the growing process. These guys are growing in egg crates, which have not shown any sign of molding. YAY! This means that they should do just fine, I think.

I also had three Dill sprouts poke through the soil and a Rosemary! These, unfortunately, are in the 36 celled seed starter flats, which are the ones that are molding. I will need to transplant those this weekend so they do not begin to fail. Almost all of the lavender sprouts are gone, along with my basil. They basil failing is a bit of a surprise because it is in a little steel pot. I guess I may be being a bit over zealous with the watering. What can I say? I’m really excited and anxious for Spring to get here and to get my garden going.

The seed starting medium is a little…weird. I don’t usually use seed starter soil, but decided to give it a shot this year. Couldn’t hurt, right? Well, apparently it can. It will look really dry, rather quickly, so I water. I am guessing that it really isn’t as dry as it looks, so I’m overwatering, thinking I’m just keeping things moist for my little seeds. Live and learn.

Last night, I checked the seeds that I planted the day before yesterday to see if they needed water. Some of the soil looked a little dry, so I pressed my finger gently into it. Not really all that dry. Hmmm… This is definitely a learning process. I don’t want to let the soil get too dry or my seeds won’t sprout or will begin to sprout and then dry out and die. I’m probably way over-thinking this, but with the heart-break of the first round of sprouts starting out great and then just laying down, I really want to get this right. I can see my garden in my mind, what it is going to look like in full growth, and it would be heartbreaking to not be able to replicate that mental image in reality.

One of the mental images the really has me going right now is the row of sunflowers along the fence line. I have around 6 different varieties of sunflower that I plan to plant there, from Mammoth Sunflowers, which get to be around 12 feet tall, to Velvet Queen, which grows to be around 5 feet tall and produce a deep red, velvet flower with a warm chocolate-brown center; Autumn Beautys, which get around 6 feet tall and look like they sound like they would, producing flowers with yellow, copper-red, and purple-red petals. Every time I look at the fence line that separated us from the street, I can see all of the sunflowers in their varying heights and colors, standing proudly, showing off their beauty. Its going to be great!!!

I am going to need to cover my tulips and my hollyhock. We have had a light frost two nights in a row with about 4 more nights forecasted this week. So far, these plants look to be fairing pretty well despite being frosted a couple of times. I think four nights of frosting in a row, with some of the night temps getting as low as the mid-20’s, will definitely be too much for them. My plan is to make some canopies out of plastic and some stakes so the frost can’t touch then. I’m so grateful that Spring is only 29 days away, which means nights of frost are quickly heading out the door. Shorts and flip-flops aren’t far behind!!

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