It's Garden Time In Tenneessee

Hard to believe it's already time to get started gardening, but I sowed the seeds for transplants the other day for peppers and the cool season stuff (cabbage, lettuce, etc).  I'll try to get the early stuff planted in the garden the first of March and the warm season items in mid -April - earlier for the peppers.  Our temps have been getting hotter sooner and the peppers don't have time to set a good fruit crop, then they pretty well quit blooming for the hot summer months, so I'll plant them earlier and deal with frost if need be.  For the same reason, I need to get the cool season items planted earlier, so I can harvest them before they bolt.

My normal sowing method is to fill the tray cells 90% full of Miracle Grow Potting Soil, add the seed and top with a little sphagnum moss (stays dry on top to prevent damping off), and set the tray in water to get the soil pretty wet, and mist the moss to be sure the seed is wet.  The potting soil isn't sterile, but I haven't had a problem so far and it provides some early nutrients.

The peppers are hard to get to germinate, so I'm trying something different this year - after sowing and getting the soil good and moist, and misting the sphagnum moss on top, I wrapped the seed tray in plastic wrap and put it in my dehydrator at 90*. 

I'll know within a week if this works as germination normally takes about 2 weeks.

The cool season items just got the normal treatment - covered with a clear plastic dome and set on a heating coil in the green house.

Here's what I'm growing this year and I think it will keep me plenty busy.

Garlic - 4 types for a test (planted last November)
Spinach - Local seeds
Radish - French breakfast (Jung)
Cabbage - Green Local plants
Cabbage - Red Ruby Dynasty (Stokes)
Cauliflower - Cheddar hybrid (Johnnys)
Kohlrabi - Kohlrabi hybrid (Jung)
Peas - garden Thomas Laxton (OH)
Peas - Snow - Snow Sweet (Johnnys)
Potatoes - Red norland (Co-op)
Potatoes - Yukon Gold (Co-op)
Potatoes - Kennebec (Co-op)
Kale - Vates (S. Exp)
Chard - Bright lights
Lettuce - bib - Merveille des Quatre Saisons (SSE) - reddish
Lettuce - loose leaf  - Slobolt (SSE) - light green
Lettuce - loose leaf - Red velvet (SSE) - deep red
Lettuce - romain - Romain (SSE)
Lettuce - romain - Red leprechaun (SSE)
Onions - bulb Co-op plants
Beets - Cylindra
Pepper-swt - Spanish spice: 5 plants (TT)
Pepper-swt - Giant marconi: 5 plants (Tomato Growers)
Pepper-swt - Super heayweight hybrid: 5 plants (TT)
Pepper-swt - Paprika
Pepper-swt - Melrose
Peppers-hot - Chichimeca (TT)
Peppers-hot - College - anaheim type
Peppers-hot - Poblano
Eggplant - Florida high bush (Tomato Growers)
Eggplant - Antigua (Tomato Growers)
Eggplant - Cloud nine (Tomato Growers)
Tomatoes - Kada (Totally Tomatoes)
Tomatoes - Quimbaya (Totally Tomatoes)
Tomatoes - Brandy-Sudderths
Tomatoes - Yellow brandy (Johnny's)
Tomatoes - Better Boy (TT)
Tomatoes - Persimmon
Tomatoes - Cherokee purple
Tomatoes - Green Zebra
Tomatoes - Cherry - sugar snack hyb (TT)
Squash - Italiano largo hybrid (Park)
Squash - Gold rush zuchinni (Parks)
Cucumber - White from Charlotte
Corn - Ambrosia (Co-op)
Corn - Silver Queen (Co-op)
Corn - Indian (Hopi Indians)
Beans - Peanut (Coop)
Beans - Green filet
Beans - Blue ribbon (saved seeds)
Okra - Clemson spineless (local seeds)

That takes care of gardening for a month, then I'll sow the tomatoes.  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Larry