Jodi’s Garden, Fourth Week of April

I have had a crazy last few weeks what with winning a national championship in hockey and all 😉 but i have managed to keep up with my gardening.  Just haven’t had much chance to post.  So here is the status. 

GARDEN UPDATE 

Growing Outside
Garlic (planted 3/10, shoots are about 6 inches tall!)
Peas (planted 4/7, first sprouts 4/15)
White Onions (planted starter sets 4/3, first sprouts 4/14)
Broccoli (direct seeded 4/1, first sprouts 4/15)
Cabbage (direct seeded 4/1, first sprouts 4/17)
Green onions (planted starter sets 4/14, first sprouts 4/17)
Lettuce – two varieties (direct seeded 4/14)
Red Onions (direct seeded 4/14)
Carrots (direct seeded 4/17)

Growing Inside
Tomatoes (in large pots now, are about 12 inches high!)
Peppers (in jiffy pots, jalapenos are 6 inches high, green peppers are 4 inches high)
Broccoli (in jiffy pots, testing the growth starting inside vs. outside)
Oregano, Parsley (in jiffy pots, oregano is tiny, parsley is about 3 inches high and leggy, needs to go outside I think)
Pumpkins, Squash, Zucchini (transplanted to jiffy pots, about 2 inches high)

 
Left picture – green peppers in front, jalapenos in back
Right picture – biggest tomato plant next to the peppers for size comparison.  Crazy huge!

In jiffy pellets waiting to decide if I should move to jiffy pots or transplant straight into the ground:
Dill, Cilantro, Yellow Onions, Celery, Basil

Started this week
Cucumbers and Pickling Cucumbers (starting in vermiculite)

OBSERVATIONS

So far I haven’t had any success in trying to harden off my vegetables for outdoor transplanting.  My first broccoli attempts died while still in the greenhouse.  i think it was too warm for them actually.  They’ve been doing better since I set the new ones on the window sill instead.  I set out onions and lettuce to harden off and they got completely dried out within a few hours.  I forgot that they need a TON more moisture when they are out in the hot sun.  I probably should have set them in a shady place to start with too.  Grrr.  So I just direct seeded some of those plants but it’s sad because i could have had a head start if the transplants had worked.  I think in the future i won’t bother with onion seeds anyway.  They are soooooooooooo easy to grow using starter sets that there is no point in hassling with the seeds.  And the sets aren’t too much more expensive anyway.

When I get to hardening off my prize tomato and pepper plants I am going to be extremely careful with them, give them tons of water, and do it very gradually.  I can’t afford to have those plants die and start over.  That would be too depressing.