Yesterday, it rained all day long {again}. So, I decided to stay indoors and work on re-potting the cabbage, and thinning a few trays of seedlings. I must admit I totally love the little Jiffy peat pods. They make starting seedlings indoors simple. Once the seedlings grow true leaves, I re-pot them to larger containers.
The roots on this cabbage plant are were starting to break through the netting. Some people tear away the netting, but I think it just disturbs the plant so I leave it in place. If it was warm enough I might set them outside. But it’s not. So instead I relocated the cabbage seedlings to a larger recycled container one of my neighbors left on my porch last summer.
After cleaning out the old container {technically you should sterilize it with a little bleach and water} , I added a about 1/2″ of potting soil and set the jiffy seed pods in.
I then added a little more soil, and gave the plants a drink.
Then I placed them back under the grow lights. I think they’ll be ready to move out to the greenhouse in about 2 weeks. After the cabbage plants were finished I moved on to the coleus.
When I planted the coleus a few weeks ago, the seeds were so tiny I was worried they would not germinate. But as you can see they did. Yikes! I guess I put a few to many seeds in there. But that’s okay.
Thinning seedlings can be a little traumatic. I used to worry about re-potting every little seedling I pulled. But not anymore. The way I see it, I paid $1.99 for a packet of coleus seeds. I planted 48 peat pods full of seeds, even if everything goes wrong and I only end up with 4 peat pods with a plants in them, I would still be ahead money wise. A 4-pack of coleus starts run about $2.99 at my local garden center, so if I can grow a few at home {and have fun doing it} I’m saving money in the long run. And if all 48 peat pods emerge will plant starts? Well than holy cow, not only will I have plenty of plants to fill my garden pots, but I will have saved myself {and possibly 1 lucky neighbor} a ton of money by growing my own plants at home.
Some people see gardening as a chore. I see gardening as a hobby. Unless you are a cannibal, I don’t think are too many hobbies out there where you can eat the fruits of your labor.
Will you be working on any garden chores today? I’ll be inside trying to figure out how to install the wireless weather station the Handsome Husband bought for me. Wish me luck. Ha Ha Ha.
Mavis’ Garden Bling
Hydrofarm 4-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System
250 Seeds, Coleus “Rainbow Mixture”
Amber @ Tales of Domestica says
Thanks for posting this! I need to re-pot my cabbage and thin out some of my other plants. I am always affraid to thin my seeds out, what if I pick out the good plant??!!
😉
Desi says
I”ve been thinning some of my starts this week too. I’m most excited about my Raspberry Truffle Echinacea and Green Jewel Echinacea, I sure hope they end up flowering like they should and I didn’t get ripped off with just plain echinacea seeds. We’ll have to wait to see! Do you thin yours to 2 per pot? that’s how many I left in some of the ones with extras.
Mavis says
The Green Jewel Echinacea is a beautiful plant. I bought some Purple Echinacea seeds and have yet to plant them. I think thinning them 2 per pot when they are tiny is a good idea. When it comes time to re-pot them to larger containers then I will separate them again.
Sarah says
I was excited to try seeds for the first time this year and bought a bunch of packets I wanted to try, but it is just not working out well. I just don’t have enough natural light in my house (the most light I can get them is a north facing window in the kitchen) so only a few are sprouting and it’s just a disaster.
I’m also trying to convince my husband on the idea of chickens, but it’s not happening. I tried all the facts I could find but he’s not budging. I even tried “But Mavis has chickens!” and he didn’t care. How rude! lol 🙂
Mavis says
Good luck convincing your husband to get chickens lol, it’s hard. 🙂 Luckily my daughter wanted them, maybe try that angle. But honey, the kids want chickens… As for your seedlings, maybe it’s time to invest in a set of grow lights. It took me forever to buy them but they are pretty neat-o!
Sarah says
Guess who is going to get some chicks today?
Never underestimate the convincing power of a woman. 😉
Mavis says
No way! What kind did you get?
Sarah says
We got 3 – a Buff Orpington (Buffy), an Ameraucana (Phoebe), and an Australorp (Miss Heidi – named by my six year old after his kindergarten teacher). 🙂
I’m completely paranoid looking after them, everytime one sleeps I think it is dead lol 🙂 Even my anti-chicken husband has been out there cheeping at them.
We are now looking at coop options and since we don’t have a huge backyard we are considering the Eglu Go with the attached run. How did you like yours?
Mavis says
I really liked our little Eglu. Very easy to clean and perfect if you just have a few chickens. 🙂