This is only the second year I have tried growing vegetables from seed, and I have a long way to go before I feel like an expert. Things seem to be doing well though for early April. The tomatoes and peppers have a couple sets of real leaves. The brussel sprouts and other cold-weather plants are almost ready to move outside.
With the gorgeous weather we have had in Portland the last few days, I decided to take the seed flats outside into the 70 degree sun. I thought they would enjoy real, pure sunlight. They were all well-watered, but I fried a few tomatoes – perhaps beyond repair. For the next month, I won’t do that again. Maybe they just need to develop stronger roots to tap into the water in the pots during those sunny days.
Half of my seedlings will go into the raised vegetable beds, which are all ready planted with lettuce, arugula, kale, leeks, and other things I am forgetting. The other half of the seedlings will go into containers, as this is the summer to try my hand at container vegetable gardening. We will be on the move in a couple months, but more about that in another post.
Also, expect my final installment of beekeeping to be posted later this week! Writing those dense, instructional posts feels like birthing a child. And I choose sunshine and beer instead of birthing that child yesterday 🙂