It's a jungle in there!!!

Wow!!

It has been a while since the last post and things are really growing. There has been a lot of shuffling to keep up with light requirements and many new seeds have been planted.

Here is some tasty baby lettuce. I have been able to harvest a handful at a time to use in salads. There are a few varieties in here, romaine, bibb, arugula and a few red varieties. It has such a fine texture and mild flavor. Delicious!

The basil is aromatic and flavorful. I have harvested several times to use in pastas and rice. 

The cilantro is full and healthy. I am able to harvest small handfuls to garnish Mexican dishes. Ocasionally running a small fan near the plants has helped to strengthen the stalks. They are sturdy and produce much better now.

This is the first bloom to show from all the seeds planted this year. This Mimulus (monkey flower) was started from seed on Feb 9, just over 6 weeks ago. This plant should produce a variety of freckled flowers in red, orange, yellow and white. The markings are orchid-like and unique on each flower. I am excited to see what the next bud will produce, it should open within a day or two.

The Kong Red Coleus finally came around. They sat in the 2 leaf cotyledon stage for weeks. I can see why people do not like to grow these from seed. It takes an incredible amount of patience to grow it. Of the four I have started, three will go outdoors in May and one will be kept as a house plant. Coleus are shade loving and can be grown indoors successfully. If I am lucky I might live long enough to see it produce another set of leaves.

Maverick Red Geraniums. They are beautiful right from the first set of leaves. So hearty and easy to grow.

Two varieties of hot peppers, La Bomba jalapeno and Cajun La Belle. These peppers are meant to stay compact and are suited for growing in containers. Can't wait to see how they develop their fruit. These peppers along with the geraniums, cherry tomatoes are now under a 125 watt CFL lamp. Great results so far.

Cherry tomatoes, Red robin variety. Good healthy plant so far. Loves the new CFL lamp.

Those crazy nasturtiums. This plant has outgrown the grow lab and now lives on our dining room table. It is so interesting to watch as it expands and twists in every direction. Such a Jurassic looking plant, I can picture baby dinosaurs munching on it. Nasturtiums are completely edible, the leaves have a peppery flavor. I really enjoy observing the daily growth, it is like living art.

Those crazy nasturtiums!

At only 2 weeks from planting the seeds, the nasturtiums are growing wild. I pinched only once on each plant. There are several new nodes. Every day the plants change shape with the larger stems bending as if to keep the rest of the plant in balance.

The basil leaves are starting to look juicy. I was hoping to use some tonight in the pasta but there is not quite enough growth to support stripping leaves. I am hoping that in a week I can pinch the tops. The basil has a nice short, stocky appearance and looks as though it could provide a good harvest in time. The leaves are very fragrant and flavorful.

The cilantro seems spindly. In the beginning it may have been fed too much water and light. I have cut back to 12 hours of light and will water less often. So far I have taken 12 leaves from the cilantro to use as a garnish. As weak as these look, they sure are tasty. 

OMG!!!!! 

A Xenomorph warrior is attacking the ivy! Maybe that's what happened to the cilantro.... hmmmm

Lower level grow lab is now in business. These seedlings are Maverick Red Geraniums. Germination occurred within 2 days. The T&T plugs seem to be a happy environment for them. They were covered in clear plastic, then dark plastic and left under the lights on a cycle of 18/6. The covered area holds 2 La Bomba Jalapeno pepper seeds. No germination seen to date.

In the slow grower department we see the Kong Red Coleus. I refuse to believe that King Kong took this long to grow... 7 plus days to germinate and another week sitting in the cotyledon stage. I was not sure that the seedlings were warm enough so I made a mini greenhouse cover from plastic wrap and toothpicks. The seedlings are warmer and in a higher humidity environment. New nodes are forming, hope to see some true leaves by next post. The 2 plugs at the very back of the tray are seeded with lemon balm. No sign of germination.

Cotyledons

The first set of leaves that appear on a seedling are called Cotyledon. Cotyledons are formed during embryo-genesis, along with the root and shoot meristems, and are present in the seed prior to germination. True leaves, however, are formed post-embryonically (after germination) from the shoot apical meristem, which is responsible for generating subsequent aerial portions of the plant. Meristem is the tissue where cells divide and growth takes place.
Cilantro is displaying it's true leaves now and each plant is approximately 3 to 3.5 inches tall.

Basil is much slower in growth. Although it is only about an inch tall, it is displaying its true leaves.

The nasturtiums seem very hardy. At 6 inches tall, they are dominating the growth race. The cotyledons have grown very aggressively and look almost identical to it's true leaves. I was forced to move the light fixture up 3 inches to accommodate the growth. In a few days I will be pinching the top to force a more compact growth habit.

First Blog Post Ever.....

Welcome to Garden Bloggin. Follow along as my experiments with seed, soil and light progress (or fail). 

Started the basil, cilantro and "Dwarf Jewel Collection" nasturtiums on January 11 2014.

The coleus "Kong Red" was started Jan. 21. I ordered seeds and other garden material from T&T seeds of Winnipeg Manitoba.

Optimus Prime and his army of lady bug drones are guarding the grow-lab.