Pre-Sprouting Four O'Clock Seeds - It Works! 27 Mar 24

 Here are the left-over Four O'Clock seeds that I soaked, then wrapped in a moist paper towel, wrapped in a plastic bag, for a few days.  They were under an LED lamp during the day, and on a warming mat.

I planted the sprouted ones in 4 inch pots.  So far, it's six out of ten seeds.

Some of the roots were an inch long and clinging to wet paper towel.  I just make it more wet and tear the paper towel to separate seeds.  If some paper towel sticks to the seeds, I plant that too.

I think those were incubating about three days.  Imagibe that.

Sunny Day. More 4:00 Seeds. 26 Mar 24.

 I have to pace myself carefully now.  Such a beautiful day.  Plants will be thriving.

I planted some more Four O'Clock seeds.  These were seeds I saved in 2020.  Will they grow?  I soaked overnight.  These photos are the source plants a few years ago.

I need to inventory and clean up my seeds.  There may be more recent ones with better chance of growing.  I can use moist paper towel method to test germination.

The Four O'Clocks will be a bushy hedge in front of the garden, outside the fence.  The size is perfect and they need minimal care once they start growing.  Herbivores and insects don't bother them.  They bloom beautifully as annuals.  Once established here, they usually become perennials.

Planting Snowpea Seeds. 26 Mar 24.

 I planted 4 4-inch pots of snowpeas.  I don't need a lot.

This year I'm doing something different.  Snow Peas are such a treat, sweet, crunchy, moist, great flavor.  Out of the garden, they are the best.

The seeds germinate easily.  Grow fast.  Then something  voles?  jays?  both?  always gets into the screening and fencing, pulls up almost every plant and eats them all.  Rarely, I'll get one plant.

This year I'm growing them in containers.   I might transfer to garden when they are a good or so tall.  I'll bring them inside at night until I think they are too big for the herbivores.

I planted two 4-inch pots with six seeds of each variety.  I might thin to three each, once they get growing.  The packet says, one plant every two inches in a row.  Translating to container growth, maybe three or four plants?

Planting The Rest Of The Tomato Seeds. 26 Mar 24

 This is just a little later than last year.  I thought I was a little too early in 2023 and they needed planting outside before it was warm enough. Still, it was a fantastic tomato year.

I think this year could be warmer, earlier anyway.  Farm life LOL.

Here are the other varieties that I planted today.

 Varieties

New Big Dwarf  - Pink, basically a dwarf Pink Ponderosa.

Tanunda Red - my most successful red slicer, a gift.

SummerTime Gold - havent tried this one yet.  Dwarf golden.

Puck - very very dwarf, produces quite a few, very very early.

42 Day - this packet had FIVE seeds LOL.  Well, they have to make a living.  I haven't tried this one before.

Paisano - paste type, gift.

Plum Regal - paste, really good last year.  tift.

There's a red cherry type in there Sugar Rush, gift.

Dwarf CC McGee - has done well for me.  Yellow.  I'm growing to compare with the other yellow ones.

Planting Tomato Seeds. 25 Mar 24.

 Today I planted most of the tomato seeds.  There will be a few more tomorrow.

My beds have room for 11 dwarf or bush tomato plants.   This yearI'm not growing much more than that.

The slicers are all open pollinated, dwarf varieties.  They do the best for me.   Some are home saved seeds or old packets.  Some new varieties.

The paste tomatoes are about half heirloom Roma, half new hybrid.  The Roma are better flavor but smaller and less productive.

Varieties, mostly dwarf slicer except Reisentraub.

BrandyFred, Chocolate Champion, Reisentraube, Sleeping Lady, Tanuda Red.

Paste.

Roma VF, old seeds of Plum Regal F1, new seeds of Paisano F1

I will start more for my neighbor too, and a few more for my garden.  I need to choose between two yellow types, not sure which one yet.

The six packs in blue holders are Portulaca.  I left a packet in my pocket, which went into the washer md dryer, so only half as many as planned LOL.

My best performer of slicers is Tanuda Red.  First quality, huge, juicy, red, prolific slicer.  BrandyFred is less productive but so delicious.  Chocolote Champio  is up there too.  Reisentraube is a bit big for cherry tomato but excellent. I have not grown Sleeping Lady before.

They are on seed warming mat.

These are in re-usable seed starters.  After using, I wash them, then run them through dishwasher to sterilize them.