Garden Update #2

So, a week has passed now since I started my seeds and transplanted the chard. At this point we have left the tomato and broccoli starts in the containers they came in, they may have to be transplanted if they get too big before being transferred to the soil.

The broccoli starts don't seem to be doing so hot. I've made sure to keep them lightly watered, but they seem to be getting limp and the leaves at the lower portion of the plant are yellowing. I'm wondering if they need to be transplanted into a bigger container. If they aren't looking any better, I'll talk to the guy at the farmer's market next weekend, he was very knowledgeable about the plants.

The Brandywine tomato start seems to be growing, but the lower leaves on the plant are discoloring. I'm wondering if it isn't my apartment. Maybe the starts will do better when the threat of a freeze is gone and they can be outside full-time.

The discoloration on the leaves.

The Better Boy tomato plant is doing just fine. It's grown quite a bit this week and has all sorts of new growth on the top. I have a good feeling about this plant.

:-)

All that new growth! Wahoo!

I transplanted the chard last Sunday, and it spent most of the week outside. The temperatures got a little low and we had some severe weather, so we brought it in for the weekend. It looks like we should be able to put it back out early this week.

So far, it seems like it has taken to its new home very well. The leaves are still thick and shiny. It seems as if it's grown quite a bit since last week. A couple of the leaves on the other side have tears on them, but I am surprised at how well it seems to be doing overall.

I think I may have made a rookie gardener mistake when starting my seeds last Sunday. I thought I would 'play it safe' and plant two containers of each plant in case some of the seeds didn't start. I don't think that was a bad idea, however, when I was putting the seeds in the containers, I decided I should put more than one seed in each container - again, just in case.

Well, so far only one of the containers of cucumbers and zucchini have started. But all three of the seeds I planted in the one cucumber container have taken off. I hope this isn't a trend or I'm going to have an awful lot of plants.

These are the cucumber starts.

So far, only one of the zucchini seeds started. I really hope we don't end up with an excessive amount of these plants, I've heard stories about how many zucchini people get off of one plant.

None of the other seeds have started yet, but the packages for them, especially the hot peppers, say it takes about 10-20 days for them to start germinating, so maybe there will be more to see next week.

Brett was telling me the other day he thought others might be interested in what we eat on those days of the week that I don't blog. I guess to give people an idea of the things we eat on a daily basis and what recipes get made the most and are our favorites. This idea never occurred to me, as I didn't think anybody would be interested in what I eat unless I'm making something new.

If anyone is interested in a brief run-down of the things we have for dinner each week, just leave a comment here and I'll add that to the weekly garden update. Though I may warn you, we either eat out or eat Amy's vegan pizza about once a week, it's sad, but I don't feel like cooking everyday and this is how Brett 'cooks', not to mention, I really like that Amy's pizza, so....

'Til next time.