Today I need to pot on my seedlings. At least the ones that now have developed character leaves! It’s so exciting!
I did a batch of (very early) sowing on February 9, and although some of the plants are spindlier than they ought to be, I still think it pretty much has worked! I’ll have to plant the spindliest ones quite deeply, and hopefully the stems will root. I know the tomatoes will, and maybe some of the others. Or they might rot, but that’s a chance I’ll take…
There is too little natural light at this time of year for the plants to grow well. I have had to use artificial light which I keep on from when I get up until I go to bed. I should have had two lamps from the start, but the bulbs are frightfully expensive. Plant lighting is definitely on my wish-list! I DO have a rather unsightly fluorescent light fixture which I will hang up today after repotting.
I got a baby changing table for almost nothing at a local charity shop, and it is a great piece of furniture for seedlings – as the window sills are already full of house plants. I’m going to try to fix the fluorescent light under the top level, but am not quite sure it will work.
I have some VERY long broad beans, which I plan to plant outside in containers on the balcony. It is too hot for them in our living room! I hope they will survive, and if they do, that they will slow down. Apparently they can take quite cool weather. Even a little frost. However, that might only be if they have been sown outside… They will need some time for adapting, though, so there will be carrying pots in and out for a week. The balcony is like a greenhouse, and I have a little “frost watch” – a fan with a thermostat – to keep the temperature at around 5°C.
So what have I sown? Quite a lot, and some of them might have been silly to plant now. I wanted to try, though, in order to learn. I DID do some research online and in books to work out what I might manage. Here is my list:
Broad beans (bondbönor)
Red Rudbeckia (röd solhatt) with seeds I took from the garden. Five have germinated so far, but unfortunately, I damaged one of them. So four (so far). Very pleased that they have come up, as perennials can be a little tricky.
Lavender (pleased with these too…). My husband was given them in a “goody bag” from when he ran the Warsaw marathon. I can’t work out what sort of lavender it is, though. I hope I get to see!
Tomatoes (Chocolat, a Cherry tomato I don’t remember the name of, and Stupice).
Chilli. I’m not very keen on Chilli, for some reason. The children don’t like it either, but both insisted I plant some. So I did.
Spinach. Only three have come up, and are very spindly, so not so happy with them.
Parsley (flat leaved). Looking OK.
Snapdragons, a tall mix (Lejongap)
Hollyhocks (dark, almost black). I should have done a mix of colours, but can do more later.
Zinnias (mixed). These I am pretty sure were too early, but I’ll give them a chance.
And then some that I don’t know the name of in English (or Norwegian, for that sake), so here they come in Swedish: Blomman för dagen, praktmalva, paradisblomma (har inte kommit upp alls).
Next week, in the beginning of March, I plan to do a new batch.