Each week, this newsletter will contain three sections:
How things are going
I will share an update on my garden as a point of reference for how my weekly tasks are adding up and looking.
What to do this week
Here I will present the 3 - 5 things I am planning or doing this week.
Resources
A deeper dive into information and perspectives that are inspiring or informing my gardening.
If you are coming to this newsletter mid-season, please take a look at the posts from the past few weeks to get a sense of context for where we are at this week!
Week 8: 2/18/2024 - 2/24/2024
How things are going:
This week I continue to focus on my pepper seedlings. Overall, I am happy with the results of bringing the seedling trays to the warmer first floor of my house (70 degrees). This ambient warmth, plus a heat mat, is resulting in much earlier germination. Though, they are still taking a longer time that would be expected under even more ideal conditions. I planted the first round of these seeds in late January, and some still have not sprouted. Peppers can just take a long time, and patience and consistency is key.
Here is the first Carolina Reaper just emerging, 20 days after I planted it.
As these peppers sprout, I continue to move them to my basement under stronger lights, favoring the light exposure over temperatures. This is working well. You can see these Serranos are starting to get their first set of true leaves.
Because I put a 2 - 3 seeds in each cell, I will have to thin these peppers out soon. I only want one per cell, and the sprouting of the first true leaves is a good time to evaluate the seedlings, identify which look healthiest, and thin out the rest. Generally, I am looking to preserve the stoutest, greenest looking seedlings, with big leaves.
My early spring plants are also growing well. I have several varieties of lettuce and kale. My plan is to plant out the kale in early March, as well as a few of the lettuces, filling in gaps in my plastic covered beds.
I am really grateful I developed an effective season extension system, which allows me to overwinter cold hardy plants and start my seasons earlier. Though, we will still likely get snow March through May, and we will have below freezing temperatures at night, the increasing day time temperatures and sunlight hours are enough to warm plants that have a little extra protection. In March, in Denver, we have workable temperatures:
AVERAGE HIGH........................... 54.4
AVERAGE LOW............................ 26.4
The averages lows make it necessary to build some kind of protection for your cold hardy plants to grow well. There are a lot of great options! Cold frames, plastic tunnels, floating row cover, clear plastic bins, used plastic bottles, and mulch are some examples. I will link a few resources below.
This is a great time to research season extension, and decide on an approach you might want to try. This may just mean cutting the bottom off of a few gallon milk containers, and using those to cover some newly planted seedlings. Or taking a clear plastic storage container and flipping it upside down over a few square feet of lettuces, kale, radish, carrots, beets, or other cold hardy crops. These are easy, low risk experiments, and it’s fun to get a head start on the gardening season.
The key thing is to try to prevent the ground from freezing where your plants are planted, and to keep the cold air or snow off the plants as much as possible. You don’t want the walls of your cold frame touching your plants ideally, if they can transfer the cold.
A few other considerations:
how you will water these plants. A hose can freeze up if not stored properly. You could always use a watering can filled up in doors if you have a small enough number of plants to support
making sure the plants will be harvested and out of the way by mid-May so you have space for your summer plantings (it’s good to map out your garden and have a planting schedule)
make sure the varieties you are planting are cold hardy and able to grow well in the cold weather
What to do this week:
Continue taking care of your pepper and early spring seedlings. Be patient. Stay consistent.
If you are going to grow seedlings for a May planting, make your plans and order your seeds now. We will want to start those seedlings by the end of March.
Take a look at some season extension options! Make a plan to try planting some cold hardy spring crops in early March and start gathering the materials you need to do so.
Next week:
Extended seedling care (watering, fertilizing, light)
Resources:
Resource 1
A really concise guide on thinning peppers:
Resource 2
This is a good intro guide to season extension methods.
Resource 3
There are a lot of great ideas out there for season extensions. Just taking a look at what comes up from a google image search is an easy way to start getting inspiration for the kind of season extension approach you might want to try: