Under the Lights

I picked up this LED grow light last year. I didn't really have any place to put it or real need for it at the time. It emits a fairly narrow blue and red spectrum of light which the plants enjoy but it's not that great to look at. I started some cucumber and melon seeds last month and normally I just place them in the window but not this time. I placed half under the LED light on a metal shelf in my kitchen. And they appear to be growing well. Much more compact than the plants growing in the window.

The problem with the light fixture is that despite its size, the lighting strip only runs down the middle of it. Even with two rows of pots beneath the strip I still see the plants leaning towards the light in the middle of the fixture to maximize their exposure. I could probably lower the pots a bit at this point. I don't think they need to be that close to the source. But I'll probably move them all to the window soon to make room for a tray of pepper plants. They probably need the light more than these guys.

Hardening Off

Happy Mothers Day!

Not a very big selection this year: four black cherry tomato plants, three California wonder peppers and two Hungarian hot wax peppers. Not sure if I'll plant all of them. I also have some golden midget and sugarbaby watermelons inside along with a dozen basil and celery plants.

I've been putting these out to harden off for the past few days now. Weather has been nice but the winds have been blowing strong making it hard to keep the little plants out there for too long. I think I'll be planting these soon - no later than the end of the week. Have to get the balcony cleaned up too. And I need to buy more potting soil, fertilizer and compost. It's going to be a busy week.

Lighting

I wanted to get some extra lighting over some of my seedlings so I picked up this 22" HO fluorescent growlight at Lee Valley. I was going to construct some kind of stand for it from some scraps of wood but I didn't really feel like putting even that kind of commitment into it (yeah, I'm lazy). My kids have this K'NEX toy set that they rarely use so I quickly put together this little frame to temporarily hold the light above one of my starter trays.

I have another tray and I could use more light but this is good enough. And this was a week ago. The plants in the other tray; tomatoes and pepeprs, have been potted up to individual 3 inch pots now.

Like every season, I'm running behind in my planting. I did good with the tomatoes but the peppers could have been seeded earlier. And the celery is way off. Far too late, but I'll try anyways. Basil is on schedule. And I keep forgetting to start the melons. Maybe tomorrow...

Tomatoes Ready to Plant

The tomatoes are hardening off on the balcony and some should be planted in their permanent homes this weekend. German Green, Black Cherry, Gold Medal, Opalka and Zapotec.

Early Nutrient Deficiency

While inspecting my tender tomato seedlings I happened to notice that some of the leaves are developing a slight purple tinge and curled leaves: a sure sign of a nutrient deficiency. Perhaps phosphorous. And it's no surprise really. I'm a lazy gardener and should have applied a mild dose of general purpose ferts when the first true leaves appeared. So off I went to shop around for something, preferably with a higher P and K concentration to promote early growth.

But it occurred to me that I must have something kicking around at home. I don't need much and it doesn't have to be perfect. And sure enough I had a few options available. At first I considered using a very mild application of orchid fertilizer. It had a higher level of phosphorous but also a few micro nutrients. Probably things orchids need I suppose. Then I discovered the tail end of a bottle of an organic fertilizer solutions; 1-5-5 with a touch of Magnesium. Perfect. Hopefully it does the trick.

Chilly Night Ahead

It's going to be a cold Mothers Day here. The daytime high is suppose to be around 5C and there is talk of frost tonight or tomorrow night. But by next weekend we should be free from any more frost threats. I might have to cover up my snap peas tonight.



I'm a little behind in my balcony gardening activities. Normally by this time of year I've got the balcony cleaned up and a few containers going. Not the case this year but usually when I get started too early a frost knocks out a few early starters or the cold containers just don't produce. For most of what I grow there's no rush and I can afford to wait a few weeks before putting everything out.



In my window sill I have a number of pepper plant, some bambino eggplants, some brandywine tomatoes and just up a couple of days ago, some sugar and jarrahdale pumpkins. The peppers and eggplant are getting too big for the window: tall and spindly as they usually do when started there but not too bad actually. I'm quickly running out of space and I still have some herbs and cucumbers to get started.

Seedlings on the Sill

I started these pepper, eggplant and tomato seedlings about a month ago. In the past I’ve recycled drink containers for seedling growing but this year I couldn’t find anything suitable when I needed them. My peppers and eggplants were started in recycled square plastic containers used to package mushrooms. Once the second set of true leaves appeared I transplanted the strongest looking plants into these 3” round containers. It’s still too early to put them out but they are already getting too tall and skinny for the window sill – not enough overhead light. I think I might start sitting them outside soon although I hadn’t planned to plant any out until the end of May.



Outside I’ve got some snap and shelling peas started in a couple of large containers. Night time temps have been down around 5C and the daytime highs in the mid to high teens. I expect to see a pea shoot in the next week or so. In the coming weeks I want to start some radishes and make some self-watering containers from 5 gallon pails for pole beans. I also need to get my pumpkins and cucumbers started.