Growing Challenge: Off and Running!

The weather around here isn't warming up much yet, but I decided I'd better get my butt into action anyway, and clean out the mini-greenhouse this week, in preparation for sowing seeds as part of Melinda's Growing Challenge.

That done, I decided that maybe it wasn't too early to start sowing - and that big empty greenhouse looked a bit sad ;-) So I had a look at a couple of my organic gardening books, and discovered that fortuitously, August 13 and 14 were supposed to be good days for sowing seeds according to Moon Planting theory.


So I rifled through my seed packets and decided upon sowing:

* Tomatoes, Rouge de Marmande and Tommy Toe
* Luffa seeds
* Tatsoi
* Mustard greens
* Pumpkin, Waltham Butternut
* Broccoli, Green Sprouting
* Squash, Golden Scallopini
* Capsicum (Bell Peppers), California Wonder
* Strawberry Spinach
* Ground Cherries, Aunt Molly
* Four types of lettuce (Cos Verdi, Cos Freckles, Purple and Green Oak Leaf).

Phew! With the exception of the pumpkin, lettuce and ground cherries (and tomatoes that have sprouted in the compost!), all of these seeds are new to me. I have grown capsicum and squash from seedlings, but never from seeds.


I can only hope now that I can achieve germination of at least some of those seeds. The greenhouse gets only about 4 hours of sun a day at the moment (and I don't have anywhere else to conveniently place it), so I worry that that won't be enough? It is up against a brick wall though which should radiate some heat back. But it is still getting very cold here overnight (about 0-5'C/ 32-41'F), so I worry that the soil will still be too cold for germination, especially the tomatoes. Note to self: I really must get myself a Max/Min thermometer. Having said that, I have cherry tomato seedlings coming up in my garden already, so it can't be too cold? I guess I'll know by this time next week, when I will report back with an update :-)

P.S. The building of the potato "towers" has stalled, but I found some wire mesh this morning so I am going to try two "cages" for my Kipflers to begin with (did anyone else see Josh's cages on Gardening Australia last night? Great timing). The towers will still be built as I want to also try growing some pink-skinned Desiree and perhaps some Dutch Creams. I just need to wait for DH to pull the timber pallets apart, 'cause I'm just not strong enough to do it myself.