Spring Seed Starting

I got some of my vegetable seeds started today. Here's list:

Tomato - Razzleberry Hybrid
I got this free with my order from Park Seed.

Squash - Early Prolific Straightneck
Hopefully these will be ok. I've had these for two years, apparently.

Squash - Dixie Hybrid
Same goes for this variety, too. I got these last year and never planted them.

Cucumber - Salad Bush Hybrid
They looked like nice, small cucumbers, and are recommended for our area. I'mn planning to grow on a trellis.

Pepper - Sweet Spot X3 Hybrid
These look like sweet banana peppers that Robin wants.

Pumpkin - Autumn Gold Hybrid
I got three varieties of pumpkins to play with - small, medium and large. The first two will probably make good jack-o-lanterns, and I'm curious about the large one. They're supposed to be hundreds of pounds. I heard my brother-in-law tried these a few years ago - I thought I ought to try them out.

I'm also starting some non-vegetable seeds. If these get to a decent size in a month, I may take some to the plant swap - probably not likely.

Confederate Rose (hibiscus mutabilis)
I got a seed pod off of one around the corner from our house.

Agapanthus
I read an article about these in the paper and I started seeing them around. When one set seed, I collected some. PJ Gartin said she collected seeds the same time I did, "though I suspect that what I'll get (if anything) might not exactly like the parent plant. However, that's just the risk seed collectors take." She also told me that it may take 30-90 days for germination.

Devil's Trumpet
This plant had a couple of huge seed heads, almost the size of a golf ball. I harvested the seed and we'll see how it goes.

Echinacea - "Bravado"
Robin really wants coneflowers, so I bought a number of kinds from Park Seed.

I'm still waiting on several things from Park Seed:
Tomato - Better Boy Hybrid
Coneflower Collection
Pumpkin - Howden, Big Moon

Seed Starting

I thought I would get a head start this year if I grew my own vegetables and flowers from seed. Boy, was I wrong! I don't think I anticipated how early I should have been starting various seeds. I started seeds in January and February for cool season crops like lettuce, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower and onions. They took their time germinating - some didn't at all. (I know that some of them were last year's seeds, but still.)

I thought I was making progress, but I didn't have anything to compare it to...until I went to Lowes. Nothing will make you less inclined to grow from seed than visiting Lowes in mid February. I am exaggerating...a little. I did buy a few things there, but I was determined to see this growing from seed thing through. I bought onion sets - it seems the seeds I started were the wrong kind for my area. (More on onions another time) I bought heading lettuce - it was so much larger than what I had grown up to that point. I also bought broccoli - my seeds hadn't germinated. I will be buying tomatoes as well - you get the picture.

My successes? I consider the sweet corn I transplanted to the garden Wednesday a success. Ditto on the sunflower seedlings I put in the front yard at the same time. Also I have a fair amount of Black Eyed Susans and Purple Coneflowers and a few Hibiscuses that I will be transplanting soon.

On a related note, last year my mother-in-law gave me a grow-your-own-kitchen-herbs kit that she bought at Goodwill. I had no expectations of getting any plants out of it, not knowing how old it was. So I wasn't surprised when nothing happened. She gave me another one this year, maybe for Xmas, and I waited until a week or two ago to start the seeds. To my surprise, most of the seeds germinated - Basil, Parsley and Corriander, but not the Thyme. I'll keep you posted on those.