March 4, 2026 (Originally posted on NextDoor)
Wanted to share photos of seed starting yesterday for tomatoes and peppers and prepping organic potatoes (red and gold) to use at seed potatoes. Tomato (marked as determinate or indeterminate) and pepper seeds placed in potting soil and seed starting trays. Watered after planting. Placed on lids of clear totes. After all planting finished, put clear tote over the top to serve as mini-greenhouses. I will bring these inside when/if temperatures drop too low overnight and place back outside the next morning. I will use a rock or small block of wood to raise the lid slightly if temperatures too warm during the day. For seed potatoes, I wrapped organic potatoes (red and gold) in wet paper towels and placed on my kitchen window sill. When foliage develops, I'll plant these in 10 gal grow bags. This will be the first year trying to grow potatoes. Grow bags are perfect because the dirt can be dumped onto a tarp, potatoes harvested easily, and put the dirt back into bag to start more plants.
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 | | Tomato seeds |
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Pepper seeds. Large peppers did not sprout -- possible bad seeds. Will get new seeds for next year. Orange and red mini bells did sprout and will be plenty for my needs.
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Placed the seed growing trays on lids and placed the clear tote over the top of the lids creating a mini-greenhouse with temperatures 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. I left these outside overnight unless the temperatures were predicted to go below freezing. When temperatures increased, I used a brick to raise each of the totes on one end to prevent overheating and to allow air flow.
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Used organic potatoes instead of seed potatoes which are the better value. Allowed sprouts to grow to about 1-2 inches before planting in grow bags.
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April 4, 2026 (Update posted on NextDoor)
Repotted tomato seedlings into individual pods.
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Indeterminate tomato varieties - started too many seeds! I hate to thin and throw away, but I found good gardens for all of them.
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Determinate tomato varieties. Oregon Spring is new variety.
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First round of radishes in kiddie pool. Squirrels used it as a playground I think. Also, the pool was under too much shade from the Armur Honeysuckle Bush/Tree. I did get some radishes from this planting, but covered the next planting with chicken wire for protection and pulled it into more sun exposure.
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June 1, 2026 Update
The long cool dry spring seemed to prevent a lot of growth for all seedlings. once rain days started, everything started growing at rapid rates. Rain water is most beneficial for plants. Of course, I started seeds later than nurseries would since they have greenhouses for just that purpose. I'll just have later crops which is okay for this year.
I now have grow lights and shelving in my heated garage to be able to start seeds earlier next year. It's a new chapter of gardening for me, but I'm excited to give it a try. I did start too many seeds this year. I had quite a few tomato seedlings remaining, but was able to find homes for everything with the last plants leaving this past week. Pepper plants are still a little behind in growth. A friend gave me two orange sweet bite plants which are blooming now. My goal this year was to grow everything from seed and not buy the expensive plants from retail stores or nurseries. So far, I've been able to keep that goal. Fingers crossed. Luckily, I purchased fertilizers early in the year before the prices and shortages began.
A tip for tomato plants -- I've found that occasionally loosening compacted soil after rain allows increased air flow to plant roots and gives a growing boost.
All my plants except peppers are finally in their own containers with stakes, cages, and/or tied to allow vines to grow vertically. I'm using grass clippings as mulch. I'm also companion planting in some containers. Marigolds are planted with tomatoes. Carrots planted with zucchini. Nasturtiums and marigolds planted with peppers. Sunflowers planted with cucumbers. I've also placed some nasturtiums with marigolds in a container for my upper deck. I will be making bamboo trellises for beans and cucumbers and post photos in a later update.
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 | | Indeterminate tomatoes in back row are tied to the swing frame to allow vertical growth and bamboo poles added for support. Cages for determinate tomatoes in front 2 barrels behind potatoes with added bamboo poles |
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More indeterminate tomatoes and compost tote. String over the frame tied to tomatoes with plant clips.
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Empty barrel (back left) reserved for more pepper plants. Two grow bags with zucchini plants -- cages and stakes for vertical growth. One grow bag with new seedlings of lettuce, radishes, and carrots. Kale and lettuce still growing and being harvested.
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Newest planting of radishes in kiddie pool. Got smart and covered with chicken wire which has kept out digging critters! Pulled pool into sun a bit more, but still shaded honeysuckle bush/tree.
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 | | Marigolds from my own seeds under chicken wire in container. These seedlings are being used as companion plants. After all are transplanted, I'll start a new batch of seeds to be used in containers for decorative purposes. This variety of marigolds is from South Carolina plants I deadheaded in 2018 and are gorgeous in full bloom with shades of orange and deep red. |
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My cat Opey loves his barrel of catnip! He crawls in the barrel, chews on a few leaves, and will just stay in the barrel. It's hilarious to watch.
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More later! Again, thanks for dropping by. Please feel free to leave a comment or drop me an e-mail. Would love to know what everyone else is growing. Feel free to share the blog with others. Thank you!
Marie
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