Population update

So today I potted-up 41 pots. Plus there are probably still about 15 or so viable seedlings. Also, some of those pots have 2, 3 or even 4 at least viable seedlings. I'm likely looking at roughly 50 pots with loss to pests and general plant-failure.
At the moment only about 30 are spoken for, so I will likely hvae extras. I am planning a door-to-door tomato sale in my neighbourhood, so I'm sure I'll find home for them all, but if you know of anybody who might want some, give them my e-mail or direct them here, and I'll happily coordinate with them.

Oh yeah, I almost totally forgot. I've also got a limited number of Ancho Chilli plants that finally sprouted (I actually thought the seeds were shot, but patience paid-off). If you might be interested in a spicy little addition to the garden, I can help out.

Further, I haven't planted yet (probably will this weekend), but I'm going to plant a bunch of egg trays with sweet basil, so everybody who gets tomatoes, will also get a pod or two (or three) of basil. Tomatoes and basil love growing with eachother. Like, literally, there have been studies, and tomatoes that are grown with basil in the same bed produce more and bigger fruit. And besides, they taste awesome together.

Erika is a great supervisor

Okay, to be fair, she had just wandered out to ask me to add things to a list, but this picture looks like union work to me. All she needs is a shovel and a cigarette......

About half-way done (mixing up some more potting mix means I have clean hands for about 30 seconds and can snap a picture).

Tomorrow I'll take a picutre of what I'm calling our nursery. Let's just say there's a lot of greenery.

Oh, by the way, the seedlings got white-flies from a hibiscus plant I brought home from the church (they're notorious for it), so once they've gotten over their re-potting (in a day or two), they'll get start on a mild soap and water solution.

For the record, there are 2 much better and more ecological ways to kill white flies:
1.) Leave the plants outside and let lady bugs do what they do best. Unfortunately, it's a bit too early to risk and overnight for these seedlings.
2.) Blast the hell out of the plant with a hose (works very well on a hardy hibiscus), literally washing all the flies and eggs away. Of course, this is not an option with delicate seedlings.

If anyone knows of any other suggestions let me know.

Getting Ready

Leggy seedlings? Check. Sanitized salvaged pots (mostly from Church Easter Lillies last year)? Check. Black earth and Beats Peat (not pictured)? Check. Let's get it on!

Soap Box Time

Sigh. I know I used peat-pots to start these tomatoes. But here's the thing: They are excellent at what they do. And they're fairly small.

Why do I sound so apologetic? Well, the sad fact is, the peat moss we all know and love used to be something's home, and worse, was our natural brita filter. Now it's in our garden. Does it do wonders, enriching the soil and helping to retain moisture? Absolutely. But the reality is, that peat moss was harvested from Canadian peat bogs, home to many wonderful animals. Also peat bogs naturally filter our fresh water (we have the most in the world, you know), as it passes through the bogs. While peat bogs regenerate faster then, say, a rainforest, we are still harvesting at a far faster rate then they can come back.

What does this mean? Without intentional intervention, our peat bogs will be lost. Goodbye to their inhabitants, and their free clean-up of our water. They are currently considered an endangered eco-system.

So in this picture is somebody's ridiculously simple, yet good, idea: Beats Peat. A peat moss alternative. What is it? Specifically, it's the hair off coconut shells. This is a by-product of the coconut industry, so some smart person said "Hey, instead of just chucking that stuff out (and probably paying to have it taken away), I'll take it from you, and turn it into a really cool peat moss alternative." And that's all there is to it. One bag of compressed product, when soaked in 39 litres of water, becomes 3 cubic feet of soil additive. And it only costs about $7 at the Home Depot. I potted 41 pots today and used 1.5 peices of the 4 squares of material in one package (mixed 1:1 with black earth). I'm not saying never touch peat moss again (remember I used peat pots?), I'm just saying, whe you can, consider an alternative.

Thanks to the really smart people who are doing their best to keep us from killing ourselves.

Only 20 days in, and they're already touching the lights (and yes, getting mildly scalded....). These tomatoes are growing like weeds! Time to pot them up!

More seedlings

You can see in this pic, some of the seedlings are already popping their first set of mature leaves. 18 hours of light and a mild chamomile tea really puts the pedal to the floor.

The Set-up

The grow-op. Re-used catering veggie platter (with clear dome for intial sprouting). Peat pots. Ikea cord light with a 100w equivalent "daylight" cfl bulb. One of 3 growing trays.