have seedlings under lights
Now and weeks ago. All of your seeds should now be
energy saving lampgerminated and happily growing under .
Timing depends on the crop you’re growing. I get onions, leeks, parsley, cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli going in late January. They’ve already been under the lights for 6-8 weeks and are now in my garden.
I started a second wave toward the end of February -- things that go out a little later or that take longer to mature. These include chard, radicchio, peppers and most of my annual flowers.
Young mistakes in the making or shrubs of manageable size can be dug and transplanted to roomier quarters. Now’s a good time to do this since we’re coming off two good seasons of root-encouraging damp soil. Just be sure to get as much of a rootball as you can handle, replant , then treat the moved plant as you would a new one.
The second choice is to bite the bullet and remove those overgrown hulks. It’ll save you pruning battles and make the place look neater, especially if you replace the mess with something nicer and more appropriate for the space.
Think of this as “editing.” Do it gradually. Resist the urge to rip everything out all at once and start all over with all little plants (unless you’re dealing with a hopelessly wild planting that’s been neglected for many years).
The third wave gets started in early March. These are the main warm-weather crops: tomatoes, a few melons, eggplant, basil and fast-maturing annuals such as marigolds and zinnias.
To determine what to start when, first figure out when you need the finished plants for the garden. Then count backward 6-8 weeks for growing time and 7-14 days for getting the seeds to germinate in the first place. Also allow for 7-10 days to gradually get your seedlings used to the outside before planting in the ground (“hardening off”). A few plants need closer to 10 weeks of growing time under the . Seed
energy saving lamppackets give you that information.
