Projected Pepper Overload

A couple weeks ago I realized that I had somehow mixed up two flats of seedlings. Lesson learned: label seedling flats clearly and directly in a manner than cannot be mixed up when you adjust things. So here you see two rows of what I originally intended to be tomatillos. I was looking forward to a huge overabundance of tomatillos! They cook down into a delicious jam.

But no. These are all pepper plants. And about half of what has been planted. Originally I thought I transplanted 8 hot peppers, 20 bell peppers, and 30 tomatillos. But I actually have 8 tomatillos, 20 bell peppers (see, I didn't mix those ones up), and 30 hot peppers. 30! And they all look fantastic and healthy and strong. What am I going to do with all those peppers? Here is a tomatillo husk from the other side of the garden, by the way, looking nice and plump, waiting for the fruit to fill it out from inside!

Last year's attempt at growing corn was an abysmal failure. I maintain that birds were lying in wait as I planted each kernel, and the second the door slammed and I went inside, they were out shoving their beaks into the dirt and gobbling them up. Less than 25 percent of the holes I poked sprouted plants; about half of which grew enough to even resemble corn... and even those were stunted, pitiful looking stalks. The few that somehow attracted pollinators and began to grow ears became dinner for deer within a matter of days.

I had the same lousy rate of germination this year after I direct-sowed some sweet corn, so I decided I would try starting from seed. Yes, it was late, but there's always a chance! I got them going in my straw-bale cold frame, and they were off to a great start.

It didn't take long for the little sprouts to grow big enough to transplant. In they went, spaced about a foot apart in trench-like rows with dirt mounded around the edges to hold in the water. Straw along the sides to keep down the weeds. Never has corn been babied so much!

One meal of home grown sweet corn, that's all I ask!

Pink Brandywine Wins the Race

The first seedlings have sprouted! Here are the lovely young Pink Brandywines (Burpee).

I was worried the temperature might not be warm enough; they are in a building where the heat is only set to 55F, but the fluorescent lights (5000K daylight bulbs), seem to be giving off enough heat to bring that up to snuff. I am not sure about the peppers, though; they like a warmer soil temp than others (80-90F) and I don't think it's quite that warm. I can move them to a sunny windowsill if needed.

Checking up on the other few things growing around the place... the rhubarb we transplanted at the beginning of April is doing great, and the strawberries are slowly adding some new leaves to the ones that survived the winter.

The plants from last year have a touch of sunburn (frost burn? I don't know) around the edges. Those are the two larger trios above. The rest are all new this spring. Happily there are about 3 dozen other spots starting to look just like this one, so it should be a nice productive patch this year!