Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Transplanting Herbs, Tomatoes, Peppers

 
Cinnamon basil, English sorrel, summer savory

It was 85 (!) in Chicago last week when I went over to Bruce's to transplant herbs from their starting containers into larger ones. Given the bizarre temperatures, I transplanted a few but decided to bring most of them home to plant directly into the south-facing window boxes they thrive in.

Basil for everyone 
(you can never have too much or too many varieties)
 
Sadly, we had zero germination 
on the culantro (ngo gai)

Poor germination too on the Renee's Garden free seeds Debbie shared. These were originally donated to a children's garden program. 

Sure hope those kids had better luck than we did.


Tomatoes and peppers, still under lights last week but now being hardened off in preparation for planting out into SIPs. Who the heck knows when the last frost date in Chicago is anymore. It might have been 4 months ago.

Lettuces in an Earthbox on the roof. Look at those colors.

8 comments:

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

My lettuces never thrive on the roof deck due to wind. Do you plant large starts to really get them going first?

H2 said...

Hi Barbara:
Yes indeed, we plant 3 or 4-inch lettuce starts both on the roof and in the ground.

I love how cleanly the lettuce and other cool-weather greens grow on the roof.

Down in the raised bed, lettuces and greens have holes from bugs and this week there are a zillion tiny insects that require multiple washings to remove.

Occasional bugs don't bother me, but all that washing uses a a lot of water.

Janie said...

The weather has been so weird this year, that sadly, I didn't even stat spring crops. For the first time in..how long?? (I started gardening in 1971 so figure it out??) I started a few things in pots just to have something...lettuce and parsley and wintered over arugula and I did manage to get some cauliflower sprouted and transplanted....maybe I can do more things this fall..and of course I am going to keep trying through the summer.....What a year...

H2 said...

Hang in there, Janie. It's bound to get better.

H2 said...

Hang in there, Janie. It's bound to get better.

Leon said...

Hi, You briefly mentioned hardening off in this article. I recently lost/am losing a lot of plants due to what looks like sunburn! I even tried to shade them whole day, but it doesn't seem to make much difference. I'm frightened to bring the rest of my plants out of the grow closet in fear of the same thing happening.

Do you have any advice that might alleviate this problem?

Thanks.

Bruce said...

Hi Leon,

To avoid sunburn, try setting your seedlings in the sun for only an hour or two a day at first. Gradually work your way up to full sun.

My seedlings sit on the deck on the north side of my house. That way they get a little sun in the morning and in the evening but are spared a direct blast.

Good luck.