Checking in on the Tomato, Pepper, and Eggplant Seedlings

I planted our tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings shortly after New Year's Day.  I have them under a grow light in our utility room and it stays nice and warm in there. After they put their first true leaves on them, I re-potted them in slightly larger seed pots to allow them room to grow, but primarily to give them more dirt so that the soil doesn't dry out as quickly.  I was having to water them 2 and 3 times a day and they were still drying out and looking sickly.  Now they are starting to look a little better.

Seedlings under the Grow Light

The Pink Brandywine and Big Rainbow seedlings are by far the biggest.  They were planted in the bigger seed pots and never got stressed like the other tomato seedlings. You learn something every year.  Next year I'll use the bigger seed pots from the 'get-go.'  They'll still be fine, but the bigger plants will have a head start.

You can see the difference in size of the tomato plants

This light normally hangs over my work bench in the garage.  It has one normal cool white bulb and another bulb that is a special fluorescent grow light.  You can see the seedlings reaching up to the light.  In the old days, I started them in a window sill, but they'd get real 'leggy' reaching sideways to the sun.  Starting them under a grow light is MUCH better.

Under the lights

It is February 11th and we are in the midst of another round of miserable, winter weather with rain and wind chills down in the twenties.  It's really nice weather for sitting in front of a roaring fireplace and watching the Winter Olympics, but not much else.  The potatoes that we cut into seed the other day have scabbed over and are ready for planting.

The cut has scabbed over

This tray is ready to go in the ground, but the weather isn't cooperating.  Maybe by this weekend my raised beds will have dried up enough for Benjamin and I to try to plant them.  We'll have to wait and see.

We'll keep babying the seedlings along and look forward to the arrival of Spring so that we can get in the garden and get our hands dirty.

Peppers & Tomatoes

Come on Spring.  Do your thing!