Monday, March 23, 2009

Upsized Tomatoes and Peas

Sunday morning was too cold to do much outside, so while I waited for the temps to rise I worked on some things inside.

Some of the tomato seedlings had gotten really leggy in their peat pellets, so I decided to transplant them to some larger pots (below). Many people don't realize that you can plant tomatoes way way above where the actual roots are. All those little hairs on the stalk turn into roots. So, since mine were getting leggy I transplanted them deeper into the new soil by about 1.5 inches. More roots, happier plants.

The seedlings that weren't so leggy I put in the south facing window (first picture). I'll probably repot them sometime in the future.

I also soaked the seeds for my peas. I'm growing two types of peas this year: sugar snap and 'bush' pea called Little Marvel. I've never grown a bush pea before, I'm looking forward to seeing how they do.

I always grow sugar snap peas, I like to eat them raw and they are one of the first things to mature in the spring garden. Such a nice treat! I saved some seeds this year, we'll see how they do.

I also purchased innoculant this year, which I have never used. It sounds like a disease-resistant thing, but it's not. It is a naturally occuring soil bacterium that helps peas and beans. I soaked the peas first for a few hours (they recommend overnight). I drained off the water and then sprinkled just a pinch of the fine, black innoculant into each bowl, then stirred it around with a toothpick. We'll see how they go.


Stay tuned for beets and leeks!

3 comments:

YD, sometimes with ♥June and ♥Angel Samantha said...

Great to see/hear those tomato seedlings doing so well. I have only just started my seeds this past weekend.

Jody M said...

I was surprised that they all came up. I'm going to have a LOT of tomato plants this year.

I liked your post about gardening with dogs. Max isn't a digger so much (only if there is a chipmunk involved). He is just so happy to sit there in the shade for hours, though, while I work. He's actually fallen asleep and rolled over so his belly is up. It is a riot.

Angie said...

::chuckles::