Welcome to my first journal entry of the year. This post contains affiliate links. By clicking on these links, I earn a small commission to keep the blog up and running. Thank you for your support!
The snow is still on the ground here in Maine but I am ready to get in the garden!! Since my last Garden Journal post we have moved and have a new space to make our own. The home we now live in is actually Mister’s grandparents home. His Grandmother is an avid gardener and though she took out much of her perennial gardens there are still places with mature shrubs and trees. She will actually live down the road so I have an amazing resource super close! I have seeds from Johnny’s, the hardware store, some I saved from last year, Walmart and Pine Tree Seeds. I always try to purchase from local seeds companies if possible.
We started our seedlings at the very end of February. I purchased a shelf similar to this link at Walmart. It’s perfect for my four trays of seedlings. We have them parked next to our south facing sliding door in the dining room. This window gets super bright light most of the day. I do have some clip on grow lights and keep them on the 12 hour timer so they get a bit of extra light than we have daylight right now. I rotate the trays as they do seem to lean towards the window and I dont want them to get leggy.
Soil Blocks
I am trying soil blocks out this year for a few reasons, I bought mine from Gardener’s Supply but here is a similar one. Soil blocking allows you to use much less plastic to hold each seedling. It risks transplant shock much less than using a plastic cell tray. It also encourages better root growth. Once the roots hit the outside of the soil they die and then continue to branch off in the soil. This makes a much stronger root system which is what we ideally want, right? I watched several YouTube videos and read lots of info on Pinterest about this method. I used Coast of Maine seed starting mix and pre moistened it. Even if you aren’t using a soil blocker this is very important. I am not sure why I never realized this until this year. When you put dry soil into containers and then place your seed in the middle and water it in the seed shifts and moves and doesn’t get properly saturated. By pre moistening the soil you dont have that issue.
What I Am Growing
Vegetable seeds I started so far are cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, basil, parsley, pumpkin, and cucumbers. Flowers that have started are fox glove, salvia, moss rose, dahlias, ranunculus, and poppy. Mr3 is my most eager helper and has his own tray of seedlings. Each night or if they look dry I spray them down with a spray bottle. Every few days I pour water in the bottom of the trays. Many things will be directly sown in the ground when we are frost free. We have a tractor now and plan to fence it in to keep wildlife from eating the veggies. Little hands have had a ball helping with the spraying and checking on the seedlings each day.
I am very excited to keep the journal updated as the weeks go by. We have to get rid of our snow before we do anything more. Right now the pumpkins may need to be potted up to a larger size because their roots are getting very large and we want to try to see how large a pumpkin we can grow. I’ll keep on mapping out the layout of the garden and do house projects to keep me busy until the soil is thawed out.
