Spring is definitely here, days are getting longer, and temperatures are well above the average. The morning temperatures are still around freezing point, but the daily temperatures are high enough to start growing some of the seedlings outside. Also, with the warmer days now, I can plant and sow my seedlings outside on the balcony. Yesterday’s temperature was around 10°C (50°F), but that’s well above February average temperature, so I decided to enjoy the warmth and inspect the plants outside. 

Chili peppers, sown 7 weeks ago, are doing great. I was actually surprised by the well they look, and I’ve decided to transplant them to bigger cups. They will stay here until May when I’ll transplant them to the garden.

Tomatoes, sown 5 weeks ago, are all different shapes and sizes. Some are still tiny, others have 3 big leaves and are ready for bigger pots. I’ve transplanted half of the tomatoes to bigger containers, placing them deeply in the containers to encourage more roots along the stem. I’ll do the same in May when I’ll plant them outside. Like peppers, tomatoes are also staying in these containers until May.

As I mentioned before, the temperature is now high enough for some seedlings to grow outside. So besides the chard and tatsoi, which I’ve taken outside last week, I have now added cabbages and lettuce to the outside shelf. Here the temperature is never below freezing point and they will be able to grow in cooler conditions. 

After moving some of the containers outside, and rearranging the rest of the containers, I was left with an empty lower shelf, so I’ve used it to sow some more cabbages, kohlrabi, onions, and flowers, like asters, zinnias, and tagetes. These flowers can be sown outside, and I usually do it that way, but I bought enough seeds to try and sow them indoors first. I’m hoping this way they will bloom in July, and not at the end of September when they bloom for only a week and then get frozen by early morning frost.

 

The upper shelf is now almost full, and there’s only space for the plants that are already here. So I won’t be sowing anything else until the sunbathing time. Once the temperature gets high enough to be able to start sunbathing tomatoes and peppers, I’ll start sowing zucchinis, cucumbers, and melons. Still, this won’t be any time soon as zucchinis grow really fast and start growing flowers in less than a month, and I don’t want flowers in the house. 

Now it’s time to start the outside work and give the seedlings time to grow.