The more I garden

The more I garden...the more I know I have a lot still to learn.  I am currently in the process of starting Cabbage, Cauliflower and Broccoli plants in my basement.  I have a pretty nice set up thanks to my wife.  The seedlings are doing okay so far but admittedly - not good enough.  Failure, as I have said, is a part of the gardening experience.
My seedlings are of various sizes and some are what I would call spindly.  The spindly plants most likely will never be vibrant enough to give a good crop.  Once this condition occurs, the plant is weakened too much to plant into the garden.  There are many reasons for this but the overall consensus is that the flourescent bulbs I am using are not bright enough.  After doing research this morning, it is doubtful that they give off enough spectrum and intensity of light for the plants to grow healthy.  I can accept that.
With the Brassica family of plants, there is a long period of time between when you start them and harden them off.  They need to be started 12 weeks before the last frost date.  That means, given our April 15 date of the average last frost, I started them January 15th.  This results in them being under lights about 2 months and then hardened off for transplanting.  That's where the problem lies.  The lights I have are not strong enough to result in vibrant growth over that time frame.
Lesson learned!  Unless I make a pretty substantial investment in lights, my efforts will result in less than stellar plants and subsequently meager production time and time again.  This investment is not a viable one as the cost of greenhouse grown plants are not that costly that I could do it cheap enough to recoup the costs by converting and growing my own.
I can still start my own tomatoes, peppers and such because they require less start up time and I can move them to my small greenhouse when the weather warms later in Spring.  Nothing can really replace the sun as far as the perfect light.
So, there you have it - short and sweet.  I have come to the conclusion that I must buy my Brassica plants from now on.  There are several very good sources for these locally here in Baltimore so availabilty and variety wont be an issue.  And, I no longer have to keep wondering why my plants produced poorly.  
So, there you have it.  Failure teaches everyone a lesson.  Until next time, Happy Gardening!

Is this winter?

It's just refusing to act like winter in these parts of the Mid-Atlantic.  Temperatures have been 10-20 degrees above normal for the last week and are forecasted to stay about there untile the end of this week.  Several of my plants are responding to the warmer than normal weather by putting on buds. Hopefully, that won't affect their growth in the summer.  It has, however, been a boon to my vegetables which I will gladly accept.  As can be seen in the pictures below, all the plants have grown quite a lot since my last check in last week.
Here is my Gourmet Blend cut and come again lettuce.  I will be checking this about mid-week as it shouldn't be allowed to grow too much more or it will stunt future growth.  It will also affect the taste as it goes beyond prime picking time.

I also have some Black Seeded Simpson lettuce that is showing signs of life recently.  It's still a longshot but who knows?

I have Lolla Rosa lettuce that is also responding favorably to the season.  It's the square in the upper right part of the bed.

The middle three rows are spinach plants which are showing robust leaf growth this past week.  They may be ready for picking by the end of this week if the temps stay as forecasted.  Only time will tell.

The top left bed has carrots and the middle top bed has onions, both of which are showing growth.

So, for it being the middle of winter here, the beds are doing much better than I even imagined. Granted, there's been a much milder span of very mild weather, but that's the beauty of gardening. Sometimes, the seasons work against you and at other times, like this period, they work for you. Nothing is guaranteed in gardening.  You just have to roll with what God gives you.  

I have started my Broccoli, Cabbage and Cauliflower seeds in my seed starting area this weekend.  

It's hard to believe we are less than 12 weeks out from planting the early Spring plants.  I goofed last year and failed to get them started on time so I ended up buying some plants - which didn't work out too well.  It was one of those failures that taught me a lesson.  Gardening does that to you if you aren't paying attention.  

I will take pictures of the plants when they emerge.  That's all I have for this week.  Can't wait to see if I have lettuce to harvest this week.  That would be a huge bonus.  Until next time, Happy Gardening!