[rainbow2016]

Last year was my first outdoor garden and focused mostly on the standard tomato, peppers, beans, cucumbers and herbs. This year I am thinking of expanding my vegetable patch and try corn, sunflowers and different eggplant seeds I got from baker creek. Asian eggplant I tried last year had a very bad germination rate and only got 1 plant producing. Maybe I started them late..

Also, hoping to start some flower seeds this year and redo the flower beds in my front yard. We bought the house recently and the front yard mostly has Iris...while they are beautiful when they bloom but most of the season it just looks like overgrown grass. Want to add some color but not sure what will do best here in farmington valley..

[Vandy-bound]

The warm weather the past few days (though not today--brr!) had me anxious for spring to finally get here. I am hoping to avoid or at least minimize the damage those awful caterpillars/moths did to our trees/bushes last year. They were all over our house, driveway, it was disgusting. I think I remember someone mentioning you can spray your plants/trees with Bt? Any advice? I'd rather get ahead of the invasion this year instead of just hoping things make it through.

[clutchrider]

Got my seeds in today, first round that is as others will be put right in the ground later or moved to pots for more seeding. I waited until the crazy snowstorm passed and I had some time to mix the Jiffy and Miracle-Gro seed starter soil. Also my basement has not been really warm enough to promote the growth until now and I am not investing in heat pads yet.

What I did do is set my clock for 20 hours a day to run the lights and used the leftover reflective insulation to make a tent. It really works to keep light reflecting on all sides and should help with the heat a bit too. I've secured it on the bottom and on the top so it stays away from the lamps. BTW this reflective insulation made a fantastic keg cooler for my beer log, add in some velcro straps and re-freezable soft ice packs and it stayed cold for days.

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by clutchrider

Got my seeds in today,

How's it going so far?






March 27th I transplanted into Cups.






9 days later today, April 6th they look like this. I'm in trouble. They can't go outside for another 5 weeks.





Doing a test... Don't cringe...





Lets see how they do in coming weeks.

[Cambium]

Don't get the itch yet.


Soil temp 4 inches below surface still cold, but warmed up bigly from yesterdays heat. 38° yesterday morning to 45° this morning. 1 more month and we'll be safe.

[clutchrider]

No itch I still have to ready soil but I think I nailed my first seeding this year.

[Cambium]

Man we could of planted outside. Havent had a freeze or even a frost and soil temps are in the 50s now..

If you're south of I84 I almost wanna say we can start hardening off now and plant early this year.

I see another heat surge in 10 days. So maybe we can plant out early May

[in_newengland]

Way up in northern MA, I've already planted the beets but, of course, they don't care about the cold. They could almost have been planted in March if it hadn't been so cold.

I've got pansies outside in pots. Teensy heirloom tomato seeds have sprouted in pots on the porch. They are still fragile, haven't got their true leaves yet.

Nasturtiums will have to be planted in pots outside but as you said, if it warms up, that can be done pretty soon.

Trees are finally starting to flower--cherry and flowering crab are what I saw today. No rhodos yet around here.

[Cambium]

Im making the call. Do it.

Gonna start hardening off now and plant outside by May 1st.

2 weeks early!!

I see a warm period coming up at end of month and that pretty much eliminates any freeze frost threats coming.

[rainbow2016]

I haven't started squash, cucumbers and watermelons indoor yet. Is it too late to start them indoors? Should I just wait and direct sow them?