Tuesday 2 October 2012

Putting out the first seedlings!

Today I planted some of my seedlings out!! Wahoo! The cabbages were starting to get a bit lanky in the greenhouse! I have no idea when I'm supposed to put them out really! But I read somewhere that when they have 4 proper leaves (the first 2 leaves don't count!) it's generally good size. 

Look closely & see the cabbages! :)
I also planted out the onions, beetroots & the carrots. I'm a bit worried that they will all shrivel & die being moved! But the onions & beetroots had become stagnant in their growth & the carrots I got told don't like being transplanted when they get bigger... so I planted them all! Hard things to plant when they are small! If they die, my plan is to try the direct seed method, as its warming up (well... a little anyway).

Before I planted them I did 'harden them off' like the books recommend. This is just when you take them out of the greenhouse environment & put them outside gradually for a couple of days for them to get used to the differing temperatures. When I say 'gradually' I just put them out! They were fine, even though it poured the first night!

I haven't done so well on the succession planting. We are going to have an abundance of carrots, onions, cabbages & beetroots at once! When I put my seeds in - I accounted for some not to take - & they all pretty much did! I couldn't bear to biff the plants out! It just seemed a waste! I guess succession is all about trial & error! But most of the things that are in the ground now in mass are things that can be stored well.

I also have a HEAP of radishes, as my 'supposed spring onions' are defiantly radishes! Bonus for my Mother in law! She will reap the harvest of my excess!

I've also started to think about watering for summer. You can see in the picture some bright green stripes & no, that's not just an arty zebra move! They are soaker hoses ($5 for 7m down at Mitre10) and I've put one in each garden before the plants grow & make it difficult to lay them underneath the plants. The soaker hoses just slowly leak out water from your hose. The idea being that it dosen't soak the foliage of the veges when you're watering & cause fungal infections from it being wet too long. I'm all for not standing for hours getting soaked by a dodgy, leaking hose watering the plants! :) 

So a fairly productive few days! :) Its so exciting to see some plants I've grown from tiny, tiny seeds actually IN the garden!! It never ceases to amaze me how amazing nature is! :) Fantastic!

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