All tomato and peppers seeds were sown at the beginning of April, melon seeds will be started mid April and corn seeds will be direct sown once the soil temp reaches 55-60 degrees.
The seeds of the ultra early tomato variety I bought this year, Beaver Lodge, were sown in cups and placed outside in the mini greenhouse as soon as they sprouted. I bring them in overnight if the temp dips to 40 or below, otherwise they stay outside. The plan is to get them acclimated to the roof as soon as possible so that they can be planted a couple weeks ahead of everything else.
The tomato seeds took about a week to sprout. The peppers took about a week and a half. The heat mat is on for 12 hours, from 8pm to 8am, and the grow light stays on for 16 hours, from 7am to 11pm. The dome stays off completely because the weather has been all over the place and I don't want to accidentally cook the seeds because I forgot to take the dome off on a warm day.
Planting plan:
26 Gallon Box: 1 Brandy Boy Tomato F1
22 Gallon Box: 1 Jasper Cherry Tomato F1
Garden Patch Grow Box: 1 Cosmonaut Volkov Tomato OP
Garden Patch Grow Box: 8 On Deck Corn F1
16" CB2 Square Container: 1 Beaver Lodge Tomato OP
16" CB2 Square Container: 1 Japanese Trifele Black Tomato OP
16" Round Pot: 1 Minnesota Midget Melon OP
16" Round Pot: 1 Minnesota Midget Melon OP
16" Round Pot: 1 Serenade Melon F1
16" Round Pot: 1 Serenade Melon F1
Southern Patio Growing Tower: 3 Planet Pepper F1
12" CB2 Square Container: 2 Giant Aconcagua Pepper OP
12" CB2 Square Container: Ozark Beauty Strawberry
12" CB2 Square Container: Ozark Beauty Strawberry
12" CB2 Square Container: Flowers
12" Square Pot: Flowers
12" Square Pot: Flowers
12" Square Pot: Flowers
12" Square Pot: Flowers
12" Round Pot: Flowers
12" Round Pot: Flowers
12" Round Pot: Flowers
Water Cooler: Flowers
Flower seeds were sown mid April, they've been on the roof in the mini greenhouse from the beginning. Once they get large enough for the birds to ignore they'll be moved to their pots.
The strawberry plants were another gift from rooftop gardener Dan. They've been outside since the beginning as well. Hardy little fellas, they've already resumed growing.
Tuesday and Wednesday were really nice in NYC so I was able to leave the roof door open and run the hose from the bathroom sink to fill some pots with new soil. I don't want the new, very dry, soil to blow away as soon as I open the bag so a water connection is a must when moving it around on the roof.
Self watering container mix and fertilizer from gardeners.com: $92.29
Total: $92.29
2013 Running Total: $164.66
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Looking good! I've also got a start over in Manhattan. Was reading about getting an early start on tomatoes, peppers and eggplant using weather domes, which I'm trying out. Will also be good for wind protection. Kale, arugula, lettuces and peas have all peaked out of the ground this week.
ReplyDeleteIt's great the growing season has returned. Love to watch stuff growing again.
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