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| Tomato "Gardener's Delight" |
What this means is that many of the chillis must now be evicted from the Growlight House to make way for the tomatoes. Again, I had thought about this in advance, and I had delayed sowing any tomatoes until the chillis were (mostly) big enough to take their chances on a windowsill. So now I have to juggle the whole lot, progressively exchanging chillis for newly-germinated tomatoes.
This is my tomato-germinating arrangement:
The Growlight House now has a mix of the two types:
Likewise the windowsills now play host to a mixture of the two.
I will soon be planting more potato tubers, which will free-up some more windowsill room.
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| Chilli "Calico", with potatoes chitting in the background. |
Not all the chillis are ready to be moved from under the lights yet. Some of the later-sown ones are still very tiny, like this "Blondie" one:
A few of my chilli seeds didn't germinate (or haven't yet), so I sowed another batch, of which one or two have come up. Variations in temperature and humidity can make a big difference. My chillis mostly start their lives in our airing-cupboard, and whilst the heat in there is nicely constant, I don't think it ever gets hot enough for the liking of some chilli varieties.
I guess I'm pretty happy to have a large light set up so I don't have to worry about what goes where. Though that isn't totally true. I've got those big plants going inside and out depending on the weather. Today is cold and snowy again so they are sitting just inside the sliding glass door. But tomorrow they might get a chance to go outside again.
ReplyDeleteHi Daphne, This is Annette. I enjoy your comments. I am learning so much from Mark Willis, too. Here in Georgia it is 50 degrees today and we seldom have snow,, so I am glad to not have to juggle plants in and out.
DeleteIt's always a bit of a juggle at this time of year moving all the seedlings around. My windowsills are filling up now, I've just sown some more seeds today.
ReplyDeleteMe too - I'm always too enthusiastic with the seeds then run out of space when they germinate. But it's an exciting time of year!
ReplyDeleteMe, too. And, yes it is reclaimingparadise. Knitting will be put off as while .
DeleteYour photos are so cle as r. My l As undry hss sills facing south and west. Have finally gotten this old engine out of the roundhouse and down the track.
ReplyDeleteMy Mexican husband will be glad for any tips on how to capture the necessary warmth to germinate and grow chillis while the weather is still chilly.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be just sumpin' (something ) if we could succed in growing enough Mexican vegetables to sell at the Mercado a block from our house?! Now that IS a thought.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input, Annette! Nice to see someone else as enthusiastic about veg-growing as I am.... :)
DeleteWow, your earliest chillies are huge. Nice to see re-use of cream pots! I save all my large yogurt pot innards (the kind that are clear plastic wrapped with cardboard) and cut off their bottoms and use them to protect my young plants when they go outside in the ground (like sweetcorn and beans). Loo roll innards are good for sowing beans and corn into aswell as you can just plant them straight into the ground without disturbing the roots ( I think I've seen photos that you do this too mark?)
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't use the loo-roll technique. Tried it in the past but was not impressed. The cardboard went soggy before the plants were ready to go outside - and it also developed mould! The Elmlea pots have been saved up for years now. They are good for Leeks as well as tomatoes.
DeleteYep, I've had them go soggy before aswell, and sometimes little mushrooms if they've had to hang around a long time before planting out but generally the loo rolls work well for me.
ReplyDeleteOoh yes, I can see how the elmlea pots would be good for leeks too, thanks Mark.
I was just going to echo Lou's thoughts on your chillis - So many are quite far along & looking great!
ReplyDeleteThat has always been my problem, what goes under the lights and what height the light needs to be. Light from the windowsills is not enough so that is not an option. I'm enjoying my new rig with a lot of capacity, but I still have just one heat mat.
ReplyDelete