Valentine's Day Tomatoes

Brassica seeds were sown on February 7

The 2015 gardening season has finally begun!  Last Saturday was a balmy 60 degrees and I took advantage of the sunshine to start up the greenhouse.  It's time to sow brassicas.

After sanitizing the 1020 trays (I use fresh inserts every year), I filled the inserts with my own seed starting mixure of compost, coir, vermiculite, and perlite.  I'm still trying to get a good crop of cabbage (which never "headed up" last year), broccoli, and brussel sprouts.

A simple timer suffices.

My seed album--newly organized by sowing date--made the task easy:  I just pulled out the first 7 seed packets I came to and sowed them.

A thermometer with a remote sensor is handy.

I'm trying to keep the greenhouse around 70 degrees using a small heater and lights, although it will cool down to about 55 when lights are off.
The temperature is a little warmer than I used last year, and I've cut down the lighted hours.  I must be getting it somewhat correct because on Wednesday night I found tiny sprouts!

Sprouts on day 4!

I always try to sow tomatoes on Valentine's Day, and a second warm Saturday--in the 50s--was perfect for sowing 11 varieties of tomatoes into trays.  The greenhouse will only hold 19 trays (the heater takes up a spot), so I only have room for 4 more.  Hopefully, the brassicas will be ready to move out of the greenhouse by the time I want to sow peppers on March 1.

Day 5

The weatherman had been threatening us for a week and it finally came to fruition on Monday with rain, freezing rain, sleet, and a few flakes of snow to be followed by sub-freezing temperatures (and some single-digit!) for the next few days.  These 50-degree temperature swings sure are confusing for the plants.  It would be good if the ice coating stayed on the blueberries, however, they were already showing buds.  I guess that's one of the challenge with perennials; they're always subject to the vagaries of winter weather.

Valentine's day planting!

Snow.  I ordered SNOW!

I, too, am subject the the weather's caprice, so I sit inside, watching the herd of white-tail deer gambol across my yard while a red-tailed hawk flushes a snack of song sparrows from the tall grass in my cousin's field.  The freezing rain continues, the trees grow more glassy, and I'm counting the minutes until the power fails.  But, until then, I'll enjoy the warmth and the view.

What about you?  What's growing in your Savory garden?

Nancy