Seedlings!

Ask and ye shall receive!

The new seed starting set up seems to be working like gangbusters. I already have better germination rates than I did last year (by far) and this is with things with spottier germination (and longer times ’til germination) than what I usually grow. I couldn’t be more pleased!

Here she is in action. It is both very bright and VERY warm in the bathroom upstairs!

Agretti seedlings! Despite one of our cats sneaking in and eating half (and then uncerimoniously throwing them up on the rug- such waste!), I’ve got 11 seedlings so far. This has notoriously low germination rates so I’ll pot these on when they get a bit bigger to free up this large tray.

These trays were just planted early last week, surprisingly the Echinacea pulled from outside the day before have already begun to germinate. Cobea scandens (Cup and Saucer vine) is proving very slow going. I’ve also got Pelargoniums and some Sweet Peas going- I’ve not had great luck with either before, but here’s hoping the new set up will lead to success.

The tray in the middle is ‘Pink Shades’ Veronica which will be potted on next week. The others are either newly sown (New England Aster) or waiting on very slow germination (Dianthus pinifolius).

Veronica ‘Alba’ has already been potted on. To the right are two trays of Geum ‘Mrs. S. Bradshaw’ and some ‘Diana’ Dill. I’m always interested to see how these red and blue LED lights compare to traditional LED lights.

Half a tray of Penstemon ‘Twizzle Purple’, the rest of the tray will be Blue Woodruff seedlings that are just waiting to get their second set of leaves.

Obviously much of what is growing now are perennials that will help bulk up some of our beds on the cheap. I’ve got a few more annuals to sow (but not for a few more weeks) and no veggies will get started for another month or so.

I’ll be excited for the overnight lows to get in the mid 20’s consistently so that I can get some of these trays and the heater out into the greenhouse. It helps harden them off really well and frees up more shelf space for the ever-growing veggies. Alas, I think we are a ways off from that!

How are your seeds going? What new things are you trying out this year?