THE SEED-STARTING TRAIN KEEPS ON CHUGGING

This is the hardest part of growing plants from seed, if you ask me. I started my first seeds at the end of February and I was so into them. I tended them lovingly. I checked on them four times a day.

And now, well the relationship has changed. There are still plants to be started and hundreds to be tended. But there are far more pressing and exciting jobs to do in the actual garden. Frankly, I get a little sick of my seedlings by now because they are just so needy. Well not really, but they apparently want water, light and warmth.

I jest. A little. But I will admit that I don't approach the care of my little baby plants with the same zeal that I did two months ago. Still, I've put a lot of effort into them so far. This is no time to shirk my responsibilities.

The tomatoes have grown about another four inches or more since I shot this photo.

Let's start with the tomatoes. I never used to start my own tomatoes from seed but you can grow so many interesting varieties that you just can't find if you buy plants. I planted 80 tomato seeds from eight varieties, two in each soil block, just in case one didn't germinate. Guess what? I had 100% germination! After thinning, that means I have 40 tomato plants. In case you were wondering, I have room to grow about 10 tomato plants in total, and my mom is growing a few different varieties that I'd also like to try. All will find homes, but seriously, next year, someone tell me to control myself!

Anyway, the tomatoes are growing far better than any other year. I can't explain why, but I did start feeding them about once a week with a very dilute fish fertilizer after I transplanted them to 4-inch pots. But the fact that they are growing so well is becoming a problem. It's still too cold for them to be outside in the temporary greenhouse (nights are still cold here), but they have outgrown all my lights. I may have to start adjusting the height on my racks inside to accommodate them.

Nicotiana in the back with tiny Plectranthus in the front.

Peppers and eggplant under LED lights.

Everything else is growing well, although not as rapidly as the tomatoes. I've had two relative disasters: gomphrena (only two germinated out of 16; something I blame on not soaking the seeds long enough before sowing) and zinnias, which continue to be a thorn in my side. I plan on direct sowing zinnias later, but I like to start a few ahead as well, especially the Profusion zinnias that I like to use in containers. Only about four the Profusion seeds germinated in each of the two colors I planted. I'm really sad about that and I have no explanation for it.

Out in the greenhouse, the foxgloves, poppies and parsley are trucking away, seemingly not minding the cool nighttime temperatures.

And believe it or not, there are seeds yet to be sown. I wanted to start a few cucumbers and lettuce inside ahead this year, just to extend the season a little bit. I'll direct sow each as well. I also went to get more decorative with my lettuce planting, which will be easier to do with plugs rather than seeds.

I did a quick Facebook live video Monday night after work where I sort of ran around the garden looking at seeds, so for the complete rundown of what's happening in seedling land, check that out below (worst freeze frame ever; it's like Facebook purposes picks horrible scenes).



How are you feeling about your seedlings now? Are you still as fired up as you were in late winter?

HOW TO POT ON TOMATO SEEDLINGS

There comes a time in every seedling's life when it must move out of its cramped confines into bigger digs that will allow it to keep growing.

Given proper heat and light, tomato seedlings grow faster than most other kinds of seeds, so they need almost constant tending from the moment they are planted. I sowed my tomato seeds—two seeds per soil block—on March 25, put them on a heat mat and within five days almost every seed had germinated. Within nine days I had a 100% germination rate (that's almost unheard of) for the 80 seeds I planted.

By April 4 it was time to thin the seedlings down to one per soil block (the same applies if you are planting in cells or modules). I made a quick Facebook live video showing the technique that you can view.

By the time I got home last weekend, it was clear that it was about time to pot on the seedlings. I find it easier to know when to pot on when using soil blocks because you can clearly see the roots. By examining a block I could see that long roots were coming out of the blocks in every direction. That plus the fact that the soil blocks were requiring more and more water was the signal that these babies were growing and fast.

Although all the plants look healthy, with dark green leaves and, in most cases, at least two sets of true leaves, I was surprised at how tall they were. The stems were thick, which is good, but they were all about 4 inches tall, which seems taller than usual. Perhaps the bulbs in my grow light aren't as strong as they were last year or some other factor accounts for that. The good news is that the problem is easily fixed.

Prior to transplanting, the seedlings had thick stems that were a little taller than I would have liked.

You probably know that tomatoes should be planted either in a trench or deeply so that roots will form along the buried stem. That same advice holds for potting on seedlings. I choose to transplant the soil blocks to round 4-inch pots that are deeper than many square pots. I save almost all my pots from plant purchases for this purpose and just rinse them out. I know that you are supposed to sterilize pots in between uses, but I'm a lazy gardener and I've never done this.

Transplanting is simple: Just put a small amount of potting mix—I move on real potting mix at this stage of life, although I do not use those with fertilizer already mixed in—in the bottom of the container, rest the soil block on top, then fill the rest of the container with potting mix just very lightly settling the soil on top. There's no need to firm it down as watering will do that naturally. I left only about a half inch to an inch of stem sticking up above the soil level. The buried stem will create more roots and should help the plant thrive.

When potting on, I put a small amount of soil mix in the bottom of the pot, set the soil block on top and filled with soil, burying all but about a half-inch of the stem. The buried part of the stem will grow new roots.

This is where soil blocks really shine in my opinion. Because they haven't been pried out of a cell, there is basically no root disturbance and the bottoms of the roots are nicely spread out.

There is a danger of potting on seedlings into pots that are too big. When the soil-to-root ratio is high,  it can be easy to overwater them. If you're jumping up to the size of pot I chose without a stop at a smaller pot in between, you have to really keep an eye on the water and make sure you don't drown them, allowing the roots to rot. Presuming I can keep a handle on that, these tomatoes will live happily in these pots until the beginning of June when I'll transplant them to the garden.

From here on out the care for the tomatoes won't change much from what I've been doing. They will stay under grow lights inside for several more weeks before I move them out to the outdoor greenhouse and then gradually harden them off before planting. Because tomatoes are so sensitive to temperature, I transition them very gradually. It can take them weeks to recover from a temperature or light related shock and when you're growing tomatoes in the upper Midwest, every week is precious. From now on I will also fertilize with a very dilute fish fertilizer.

The stronger I can make my seedlings now, hopefully they better off they will be when they finally get in the garden. And that means healthier plants and more tomatoes!


Following are affiliate links to some of the products I use to grow my tomatoes (and the rest of my seeds). If you make a purchase through my link, I receive a small commission, but the price you pay never changes. Thank you for your support!

WEEKEND FINDS

What a week. Well, weeks. I have been at an uncomfortable level of "busy" lately and I can't wait to be back to normal busy, which is my happy place.

But caring for my seedlings is a wonderful break. Two times a day I check on them, making sure they are properly watered, rearranging them under lights or on the heat mat, petting them and generally checking on their well being. 

I sowed tomatoes last weekend and they came up so fast they were already stretching by the time I got them under lights.

There's a bit of a Clark Griswold situation going on with the power cords in the lower left corner. Four-light fluorescent on top, new LED light in the middle, old two-light fluorescent second from bottom and the heat mat on the lowest rack. 

This post contains a handful of affiliate links. Thanks for your support!

That peculiar blue glow is coming from the new LED light I got this week. I don't fully understand how to compare the fluorescent grow lights I'm familiar with to LED light, so this much smaller light, that apparently is meant to hang much higher is odd to me. I bought one of the less expensive lights I could find because I'm not quite sure how it will work. You can be sure I'll let you know.

Think zinnias and marigolds are has-beens? No way.

My friend Linda from Each Little World gave a compelling review of this book that had me running to buy it. Speaking of which, I'm excited to be seeing Linda this weekend at a gardening symposium she told me about in Madison.

I've been looking for some dining chairs to use when we have large gatherings that can be easily stored but are still sturdy. The requirements were that they either fold or stack, were comfortable and weren't hideously ugly. And budget was a factor. 

After a lot of back and forth between a bunch of different styles, all of which I perceived as being a bit trendy, I decided I might as well go for trendy, but trendy that I like. I found this black bistro chair at Williams Sonoma and loved how it looked staged at a table, even if it has a bit of an outdoor vibe to it.  So then I went on a hunt to find it at a more realistic price. Here's what I came up with.

Williams-Sonoma Parisian Bistro chair $125

AspenBrands dining side chair from Wayfair $118.99

Table in a Bag French Café Bistro Chair, Amazon $75

As far as I can tell, they are all the same chair and certainly the last two are. The descriptions and reviews for the last two say they are stackable and I love the idea that they will work equally good outside when we entertain in summer. I may get some cushions for them but I'll wait to see how they sit first. 

That's it from here. Saturday will be a day for inspiration at the gardening symposium I'm going to and I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to get some time in the garden on Sunday. I have a lot of work I need to do as well but I'll go positively nuts if I don't get in there to do some cleaning, even if it's with a rake from the edges. What's on your agenda this weekend?

THIS YEAR'S MASTER SEED LIST

Since I started growing plants from seeds in earnest a few years ago the amount of plants I produce has increased almost exponentially. That is only problematic from a space standpoint. I plant or have homes waiting for all of the plants so none go to waste and I think my garden is better because of this exercise.

Tiny basil seedlings pop up giving hope for delicious herbs to come.  A few days past this stage I'll thin out two seedlings so just one is left in each soil block or cell.

Last year, as I spent every day after work tending to plants, watering, moving trays, transferring things from the growing area in the house to the temporary greenhouse I set up to grow on and harden off plants I swore I wouldn't grow so much from seed. You can guess how that turned out.

This year I'm growing more different plants than ever from seed, and an increasingly large number of flowers. I'm trying to limit the amount of each thing I grow (I don't really need 15 parsley plants) and made a conscious effort to add flowers that can easily be direct sown.

Here's what I'm growing from seed this year (links take you to the specific seeds I ordered):

Baby nasturtiums

VEGETABLES

• Peppers *
• Tomatoes (multiple varieties from several sources)
• Eggplant
• Kale
• Cucumbers (multiple varieties, multiple sources)
• Lettuce (multiple varieties, multiple sources)
• Peas
• Arugula
• Carrots (maybe)

HERBS

• Parsley
• Basil (multiple varieties)

FLOWERS/ORNAMENTAL

• Iceland poppies
• Foxglove
• Asclepsias
• Gomphrena
• Ageratum
• Castor beans
• Nicotiana
• Calendula
• Sweet Peas (multiple varieties)
• Ammi
• Night phlox
• Zinnias (multiple varieties)
• Lobelia
• Nasturtiums (multiple varieties)
• Spanish flag
• Flax
• Cosmos
• Amaranth
• Signet marigold
• Verbena bonariensis
• Plectranthus

* Some seeds from Renee's Garden Seeds were given to me free as part of a garden writers trial program.

When you're starting that many things from seed (and trust me, seeing the list in print makes me realize I've really gone overboard this year), you need a plan. And that's where my geek flag starts flying. I'm not a big spreadsheet person, but it's the only way I've figured to efficiently manage this seed-starting operation. I keep it pretty simple, using a combination of information from the back of seed packets, Annuals and Tender Plants for North American Gardens by Wayne Winterrowd (out of print but I found a used copy on Amazon) and online resources including Margaret Roach's seed starting calculator. 

Plants grown in soil blocks are ready to pot on or transplant when the roots are coming out the sides.

When I get a seed starting date (X number of weeks before the last frost), I count back from what I think will be our last frost. That part is a bit of a guessing game, but because in general things have been warmer than usual here (well they were until we got a foot of snow this week), I used the 50% frost free date, meaning based on past data, there is a 50-50 chance the risk of frost has passed for the year. This year that date is May 14.

Once I figure out dates, I include notes on germination requirements, how to plant the seeds, germination time and anything else that's necessary to know for the seed starting portion of growing. That way I don't have to look up each thing when I'm planting. Here's a copy of my spreadsheet that you can download. Keep in mind this isn't anything fancy and all of the timing is based on my frost free date of May 14. You'll have to adjust it for your date. 

I use large rolling shelving to start seeds on, making it easy to adjust the height of lights. In the off season the rack serves as storage in the basement.

Here's a list of equipment I use for seed starting. Keep in mind though, that these things are nice to have but not necessary. Seeds WANT to grow, so if you give them some warmth and light they should do their thing. You will, however, have a lot more success if you can optimize their growing conditions, which is where this stuff comes in handy. The links below are affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase I get a small commission. You pay the same either way. Thanks for your support!

For more information on how I start seeds, check out these articles:

• How to start seeds in soil blocks
• 5 steps to growing great plants from seed
• 5 flowers that are dead simple to grow from seed
• The one vegetable you must grow this year

What are you growing from seed this year?

FRIDAY FINDS

I've been following Claus Dalby on Instagram for quite some time and if you hang out there he's worth a follow. Gardenista recently wrote about him and you can see some of his work, although I detest the headline (I don't really see any comparison to him and Martha Stewart).

Over at the Rusty Duck, an ongoing bedroom renovation is progressing and I love it so much. Do not miss what they did with rustic wood dressers (made from floorboards) that they topped off with modern hardware for the best of all worlds.

You can tell that northern gardeners are going a bit stir crazy because we're all talking about seeds. Matt at Growing with Plants has some fantastic tips for seed starting that shouldn't be missed.

These are a handful of the photos I've shared on Instagram in the past couple weeks:

So I guess there's no doubt where my brain is these days. I'm pining a bit for warmer weather. But this week I took Margaret Roach's "365-day garden" webinar and I'm rethinking all this wistfulness I'm feeling for summer.  Her main message was that there is beauty to be found in the garden all year round, whether it is beauty that the gardener creates or beauty that naturally occurs. So I'm going to make it my goal to revel in the season we have now. Well, as soon as it's warm enough to actually walk around out there.

By the way, I enjoyed that webinar. I'm a pretty avid reader of A Way to Garden, so much of what Margaret talked about and showed were familiar to me, but I still picked up a lot of ideas for new plants I'd like to try, including a possible solution to the troublesome spot I have in front of the chimney on the west side of the house that has me excited.

We made pizza in the cast iron skillet last week and holy cow it was good. I like a really crispy, thing crust and this was the most crispy crust we've ever had come from a homemade pizza. I'm definitely going to use that technique again! By the way, this is my very favorite cast iron pan (affiliate link). In fact it's my favorite pan period and well worth the hefty price tag.

I'm off to GardenExpo this weekend and I'm really looking forward to immersing myself in a bit of garden fantasy. And work continues on the basement. There will be an update coming soon on that! What will you be doing this weekend?

5 FLOWERS THAT ARE DEAD SIMPLE TO GROW FROM SEED

When I first started growing plants from seed I limited my growing to vegetables only. I can't really explain it, other than to say that it seemed like flowers might be fussy to start from seed. Boy was I wrong. Most flowers, in fact most plants, are pretty easy to start from seed. But some are just dead simple.

Here are five of my favorite super simple flowers to grow from seed. And when you see how much these plants cost at the nursery you'll wonder why you weren't doing it sooner.


NASTURTIUMS

'Cherry Rose' nasturtium

Are you sick of me blabbing on about nasturtiums yet? I'm sorry, but I really can't say enough about them. To review: They are beautiful, edible (both leaves and flowers), may help fend off "bad" insects and, most importantly, are easy as pie to grow.

The seeds are quite large, usually bigger than a pea, which makes them easy to handle and easy to plant. They have a hard seed coat, so it's a good idea to soak them first. I used to soak them overnight, but then I switched to a shorter soak of two to three hours in hot water (changing the water a couple times to keep the temp up) at about 85 or 90 degrees. I haven't noticed a bit difference, but I've forgotten seeds before while soaking and that definitely isn't good.

I usually start them with three seeds in a 4-inch pot but I've also grown them in soil blocks. They are equally easy to direct sow in the garden. I'll start several kinds early inside but then I go back later and fill in empty holes in the garden by popping in a few seeds.

Nasturtiums are great for filling in empty spots in the garden.

Start them about four weeks before your last frost date, planting them about a half-inch deep and keep them cool. You can plant them out after the danger of frost has passed. In my area they grow equally well in full sun to relatively shady conditions, but hotter areas may requite a touch of protection from full sun. The key to success with nasturtiums is to not plant them in soil that is too rich or fertilize them. If your nasturtium is growing lots of leaves and no flowers, it's because you're treating it too well.

POPPIES

Even in a crowded border, poppies will hold their own and look great doing it.

I can only speak to the simplicity of growing some poppies, as there are many varieties, but most truly couldn't be any easier and, as a benefit, they are the single easiest seed to save so you'll have as many as you need forever.

Here are the super simple directions for planting them: Throw the seeds on the snow or soil where you want them in February. I'm not kidding. That's zone 5b so you may need to adjust the timing a little, but don't sweat it. You can actually plant them by raking them in to a prepared bed, but try not to get later than a month or so before your last frost. They need light to germinate, so don't cover them. Plant them in full sun.

Equally as beautiful as the flower, or perhaps more so, the seedbeds of poppies continue to shine after the blooms are spent. 

When they are finished flowering, which isn't a particularly long time, their seed pods provide just as much interest, if not more, than the blossoms. Let them stand but later in summer cut all but a few otherwise you'll have poppies everywhere (they will readily reseed themselves). In early fall, give the seed pods you left standing a little shake. If they rattle, the seed is ready to harvest. Simply cut off the seed head, keeping it upright and just pour hundreds of seeds into a bag.

I've grown something very similar to this in the past but this year I'm adding Iceland poppies that I think I'll start indoors just to be safe.

CALENDULA

'Geisha Girl' Calendula

Also known as pot marigolds, calendula has all sorts of edible and medicinal purposes, but it's worth growing if you do nothing other than enjoy looking at it. The flat seeds are large enough to be handled easily and starting them is simple stuff.

I start them in soil blocks but small pots or cells would work fine too. Plant them about 1/4 to 1/2-inch deep as they need darkness to germinate. I put them on a seed-starting heat mat at 70 degrees. Every time I've grown them I've had about 99% germination. You can certainly start them outside as well by direct sowing. I start them about eight weeks before my last frost date and they can be planted out a couple weeks before the last frost, although I don't recall ever doing that, only because I like to plant all my annuals at the same time and so many can't be planted out early.

Orange calendulas are so bright even a few random flowers stand out in a garden. (Bonus prize for counting the number of poppy seedlings coming up in this photo.)

They come in traditional marigold colors and some shades of pink. My favorite is a bright, neon orange call 'Geisha Girl.'

NICOTIANA

Nicotina alata 'Lime Green'

I've been growing Nicotiana alata 'Lime Green' for a few years and it is a favorite. Although some Nicotianas can be extremely fussy (I once tried to grow Huichol Nicotiana even though the company I ordered from warned me it was difficult to start and sure enough, nada), this one and many others are no problem. In fact the hardest part about planting them is that the seeds are even smaller than poppy seeds so it's very difficult to not oversow.

I love how nicotianas look mixed in a bright annual planting. Because I start them from seed I'm able to plant them in masses for just pennies.

They need light to germinate, so don't cover them, just gently press them down so they have contact with the soil. I also put them on the heat mat. Then be careful to only water from the bottom or use a mister until they germinate so you don't wash them away. Start them about eight weeks before the last frost, potting them up as necessary. They can be planted outside after the danger of frost has passed.

CASTOR BEANS

I may be pushing the "flower" definition here a bit because castor beans are generally grown for their foliage but they do have beautiful, if a bit strange, flowers.

What kid hasn't been handed a cup full of dirt and a dried bean and been told to plant it as a grade-schooler? Kids are filled with pride as the bean quickly sprouts and grows to a size large enough to take it home and present it to their parents. Teachers pick beans because they are pretty much guaranteed to grow and the same holds true for castor beans.

I start them in 4-inch pots about six weeks before the last frost, planting them one per pot, about 1¼ inches deep. I give them some bottom heat to get them started on the seed mat. Once they germinate and start growing you have to be careful about giving them even light or rotate them at least once a day as the plants can take off in one direction seeking sunlight and never really straighten out.

The spiny flowers of castor bean are unlike anything else in the garden.

The key to castor beans is to make sure not to plant them out too early. They will not handle anything below 60 degrees, at least as young plants and will sulk at best and die at worst if they get colder.

It's important to note that all parts of castor beans are very poisonous, so some care must be taken in where you plant them. And although I love the spikey, bright red flowers, I don't bring them inside because I don't trust the cat to leave them alone.

I've grown 'Impala' and 'Gibsonii' and wouldn't be able to pick a favorite. 'Impala' is a "dwarf" variety, meaning it stays about 5 feet tall or less but 'Gibsonii' has spectacular flowers and has more of a tendency to flop later in the year, especially if they get dry.


There are many other flowers that grow very easily from seed but I've either never grown them (or not grown them for several years and have therefore forgotten their habits) or for whatever reason I personally haven't found them to be as easy as other people have so I left them off the main list. Still, they are worth checking out:

• Sunflowers
• Zinnias
• Cosmos
• Marigolds
• Violas

What are your favorite flowers to start from seed?

MY SWEET PEA ORDER

Dear me. It's still a good four months before I have a hope of planting anything, but I'm very much behind on making a plan for what I will grow from seed this year. I need to start by going through what I already have and that will require riffling through boxes and Ziploc  bags and generally realizing that my "organizational system" is lacking.

There's still some question about what vegetables and flowers I'll grow this year, but there is no doubt that I'll be growing sweet peas, so earlier this week I at least finished up with that order.

A bouquet of sweet pea blooms from my 2015 garden. The scent was absolutely heavenly.

Of course I ordered too many. How can a gardener possibly choose? Plus, I enjoy giving spares away to good homes. A sweet pea charity if you will. The past two years I've bought a mix of heirlooms and spencer varieties to make sure that I had the scent from the heirlooms but the more showy flowers of the spencers. This year I bought mostly spencers but focused on varieties said to have good scent. There is no point whatsoever to growing a sweet pea if it doesn't smell like a sweet pea, in my mind.

Here's this year order.

I ordered the majority of them from Owl's Acre Seed, a British company whose seed I had great success with two years ago. Whether it was just a better year for them than last year, or the seed really is better I can't say but I'm hedging my bets and going back to what worked better for me. Plus, they have a better selection than a lot of seed providers in the U.S.

Noel Sutton

Owl's Acre Seed photo

I have a weakness for sweet peas in general but show me anything in the blue family and I go all weak in the knees. I love setting them off with pink  and white. Noel Sutton appears to have a blue-turning-pink type of thing going on. And it is said to have great fragrance.

Erewhon

Owl's Acre Seed photo

I grew Erewhon two years ago and it is the best sweet pea I've grown. A bi-color pink and blue. Obviously a winner in my book.

Unique

Owl's Acre Seed photo

I like a sky blue sweet pea to go with those deep blue and purple flowers so this one caught my eye. It's said to be smaller growing and therefore good in a container so having that option attracted me to it. This is an heirloom variety so I would expect that what it lacks in long, cuttable stems it will make up for in scent and an abundance of flowers.

Anniversary

Owl's Acre Seed photo

I wanted a white sweet pea to mix in with this bunch and this one with pink edges caught my eye. I grew Mollie Rilstone last year and was underwhelmed by it so I hope this wasn't a mistake. Anniversary sounds like it will be excellent as a cut flower, which is my favorite thing to do with them.

Beaujolais

Owl's Acre Seed photo

After all that same old-same old I was feeling like I should at least try something different and this wine beauty caught my eye. The fact that it said it has excellent fragrance sealed the deal.

Spanish Dancer

Owl's Acre Seed photo

I like to mix different varieties of sweet peas on the same support so I needed to find a friend for Beaujolais and I thought the deep pink tone on the tri-color Spanish Dancer would tie in well. I'm the most nervous about this choice because it will be beautiful if it looks like the picture but I've seen this same color combination look completely muddy in other flowers.

This last variety came from Floret Flowers. I was picking up a couple other seeds there and this sweet pea (which is also offered at Owl's Acre but is sold out) came along for the ride.

Valerie Harrod

Floret Flower photo

I'm definitely on a coral and salmon kick when it comes to flowers and this punchy pea caught my eye. The folks at Owl's Acre call this one of their favorites, and that's good enough for me.


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FRIDAY FINDS

Well I made it through the first post-Labor Day week. This summer has been so incredible (I know, I won't shut up about it, sorry) that I was truly melancholy Monday just thinking of it ending. Despite my best efforts, my thoughts have turned to gardening tasks that need to be attended to before frost and suddenly I'm feeling concerned I won't get it all done.

I spent some time this week at the local library doing some research for work and I was thrilled to see a real, live card catalog. I bet the library gets offers to buy it on a regular basis, but this one is serving a great purpose: It's a seed library. I'd known it was there, but I hadn't checked it before and I was thrilled to see such a great variety of heirloom seeds represented in it. Seeds are packaged and free to take. They ask that you bring back some seeds at the end of the season  to keep the collection intact and hopefully add to it. Here's more info on seed libraries.

The Kitchn is doing a series called "20 Chefs, 20 Knives" and I find it really interesting. I'll admit, I was a knife snob. When we got married I didn't register for a knife set, choosing instead an expensive  German chef's knife and paring knife (which I still have an use regularly). Then I got a Wusthof santoku knife that has been in regular service for about eight years. And then I read a Chef's Illustrated knife review and picked up their favorite, the Victorinox Fibrox 8-inch chef's knife (affiliate link), about a year and a half ago and it's the knife I use 98% of the time now. I like it so much that even if it's dirty I will take it out of the dishwasher and hand wash it rather than use another knife. When I bought it, it was $35 and I see that it's now $10 more, but it's still a fantastic deal over most really good knives. I also got a new knife sharpener and it's the best I've used. You just have to know the angle of your blade, which they clearly describe how to figure out in the instructions.

This list is actually quite funny and somewhat spot on. But only go there if you have a sense of humor about your name.

Here's some good info on how to clean marble, complete with lots of drool-worthy photos of great marble, natch.

This reminds me, I never did get Mr. Much More Patient to build a trellis for the clematis by the garage.

I'm a little afraid of canning. I fear I will kill someone with a horrible foodborne illness caused by an improper seal or whatever. Here's a bunch of ways to preserve food without going the full-on canning route.

That's it for this week. I'll be spending some time in the garden doing a variety of things including using Miller High Life for it's highest and best purpose: slug bait. The slimy suckers are everywhere. What's on your list for the weekend?

FAILURE, AND SUCCESS, COMES EARLY

We're well into seed-starting season at this point. I can tell because I'm bored with it. Well, not bored with it, but it is lot of work to check on those little guys multiple times a day to make sure they are feeling happy.

Overall, I would say my seed starting has not been as successful this year as it was last year. Granted, I'm starting way more different kinds of seeds this year and fewer of each variety (although probably more overall), so I think I'm noticing when one fails.

I sowed three kinds of basil (two rows of each). Only two on the far end germinated, but this was seed from last year  (a successive sowing suggests that's the problem as none of that variety germinated). In the second group, six of the 10 germinated, but all on one side. In the third group, five germinated (some with multiple seeds per block), mostly in the middle.

As far as cute plants go, I think few things are cuter than baby basil.

Lacinato kale is looking great and is ready to make the move to the outdoor greenhouse.

I've had more germination problems than I recall last year and have lost more than a few when they went under lights. I'm blaming that on the heat from the lights, so I've been gradually acclimating them to the big light. Still it's strange to me that even though I pretty much always put two seeds in each soil block it seems that both germinate in some blocks and none in others, but rarely does just one germinate. This leads me to wonder if I don't have a problem with my soil block mixture. I can't imagine how I could as I'm using the same ingredients and "recipe" as last year.

Things are looking sad on the tomato front.

This is my first year growing tomatoes and I just started them a week ago (well, 10 days now) as I didn't want huge transplants because I'm convinced that's not great for plants. I planted six soil blocks of each variety, figuring I'd lose one of each, have up to two for myself and two to pass along to friends and maybe a spare. But they are germinating unevenly, some are not coming up at all and others seem to be succumbing to the dreaded damping off. So I'm not really sure what's happening, but I think I'm going to start a few more in a more traditional plug tray and see if that helps.

The greenhouse is open and accepting guests!

Nicotiana is happy to be outside.

So far, I'd say parsley has been my most successful sowing this year.

Sweet peas are on a roll.

I set up the temporary greenhouse last weekend and have moved several flats of seedlings that had already been potted on out there. (Some of you have asked about the greenhouse: It's the Flowerhouse Pro and I really like it. All the shelves come with it and store flat when not in use. It has big pegs to hold it down in the wind too, but I'm not sure how it would work if it were not on grass where it could be pegged down. That's an affiliate link; thanks so much for your support!) There was just too much in the house and not enough light to accommodate them all so something had to brave the up-and-down temperatures. Everything that I moved out there seems to be doing well. My guess is that the additional light they are getting there is making up for the chill.

Those sad little shoots where there when I opened the bins I was storing tubers in. They are coloring up in the sun.

I also started some dahlia tubers last weekend. I was very encouraged when I went to my parents' house to retrieve them (they have a cool but heated garage) and they were busting out the top. Unfortunately only the top layers in each box survived. I buried them in peat, but I think they were too dry, so I bet I lost at least 15 tubers. I'm glad that the 'David Howard' tubers were on top because I didn't buy any more of those this year. I also ordered a few new dahlias, which I potted up and have in the house until they sprout.

Gardening is always full of victories and defeats. Might as well get some of the latter out of the way early in the season.