March Update: Growing Many Indoor Veggies [Gardening]

Come inside! Check out all the vegetables seedlings I have growing indoors.

This will be a full garden journal update. Photos taken on March 5, Fat Tuesday.

Pictured above is my Goji berry (it's over a year old) behind on the left, Rapunzel Cherry Tomato in the front, a Banana Pepper to the right. They are growing underneath a pumpkin vine.

Many of them now have established roots, mature leaves, and are photosynthesizing food so they can get ready to make flowers. With only two small lamps, a shelf, and a windowsill, I hope to have enough starter plants ready to start harvesting many different food options in early summer.

Some of my plants are looking sickly because I don't have enough light, and I am forcing them to grow in small pots. However, it is forcing them to develop lots of beneficial divided surface roots, and their bottom roots are becoming air-pruned by the many holes in the pots (a bonsai trick I've learned to help plants become healthy in small pots). As long as I give these hungrier plants lots of water, almost daily now, I think they can live on the new leaves they keep vigorously pushing out, and we can discard any leaves that are mal-nourished.

Above are a my twin Ahaheim Peppers. They have been among the happiest in my collection so far this year. As slow growers, they are not fussing over lack of root space. Leaves are staying small and healthy. Sometimes I spin the tray around as they like to bend towards the light. Straight upright stems is the goal, as they love towering over other plants when mature to receive full sunlight.

The pumpkins are enjoying being staked upright. Chopsticks are so useful! In past years I usually let them flop over as they grow, but that seemed to cause them unnecessary stress to the primary stem/vine. The center of my stems are fattening up to about a quarter inch in diameter. Any male flower buds that form, I pinch them off, in hopes that it will channel the energy to produce some female flowers, required for making the fruit. In May after they have hardened off and when I consider planting them outside, I'll probably plant them sideways, and bury the vine under soft compost.

A super dark green streak is forming up along the stems. Is this a sign that the stem is hardening off already? It definitely means it is getting chlorophyll. Possibly the organic fertilizer is kicking in.

Older leaves are turning yellow and speckled. The speckled spots and the edges turn brown when they dry out. I think this is a sign of lack of light and nutrients. I trim off any leaves that look more diseased than healthy, so far only a couple leaves. They are vigorously forming new healthy leaves and buds, so that means the plant is functioning well.

Three turnips are hanging on by a thread.

They really need to be mounded up under more soil, because I hate seeing the pink stem bending out like that. This is where the edible root starts to form. The leaves are bunching up well and showing no signs of stress, other than the stems flopping around from gravity. Near the window, they do not mind the frigid temperatures, and seem to appreciate the natural daylight cycles.

Swan River Daisies. These are growing very grass-like, which is not what I expected. Glad they are looking so healthy. They also seem to appreciate the cool window and natural sunlight. Cold weather plants I am noticing have a daily dormancy cycle which benefits from cooler evenings. They are so fuss-free. Less disease. Less fertilizer. Less heat. Less space. Shows no signs of stress if I forget to water for many days, or over-water. This would be a great plant to start from seed for folks who unintentionally mistreat plants.

Anise seems to grow best in a humid environment. The stems are extremely delicate and narrow. The leaves dry out without the added benefit of water vapor in the air. The roots prefer not to have wet feet. A bit of a temperamental herb most people never bother to grow, but well worth it for their candy licorice leaves, sweet flowers, and candy-spiced crunchy seeds.

I think I'm going to need to start sowing some more of these seeds in a new pot, because I only see about four plants inside, and they might drop at the drop of a hat.

Roma tomato on the left. The stem structure if very upright, strong, and rigid. The leaves are very tree-like and perky. Exactly what I want. Older leaves on this one tend to develop a bit stronger before the plant starts forming new leaves. I think that is also a healthy growth trait to keep the older leaves revitalized. Older leaves perform photosynthesis the best, and also develop the growth hormones the plant needs.

Money Maker Tomato on the lower left. Roma tomato to the right. Beefsteak tomato under the dome on the far left side. Ancho Poblano pepper growing slowly in the center. Anaheim pepper growing in the back row.

Many younger seedlings here are adapting to their new pots after being being transplanted from the growing chamber a few weeks ago. I keep them closest to the light. The weak seed leaves have fallen off, and the new true leaves are just peaking out. When they are this fragile and small, I use plastic cups to increase the humidity, because those small long stems will dry out very quickly, causing the new leaves to wither. When the plant doesn't even have a set of true leaves fully formed yet, it will die if those baby leaves dry out, because it has no way to produce any more energy without green leaves. Most of the seed energy is already used up.

One day this beefsteak tomato bent over, and it has had a curved spine ever since. Beefsteaks tend to have heavier young limbs for some reason, and the stems are very flexible allowing for things to bend easily. To encourage a better upright shape, I use a plastic cup to support it and help any curled leaves to receive more moisture through humidity, and I also spin the pot around to encourage the leaves to stretch the stem back toward the light.

The lower leaf is looking multi-colored and sickly to me, so I'm going to trim it off. I would rather have growth energy sent to the top right now.

Looks much better now. There is a bit of puffy, pale edge on the bend of the stem, which might be a disease or stretched/drying tissue. I spritz it with some peppermint water in case it is a fungal issue. It looks more clean and green after spraying.

When a plant develops such a bad stem shape that it can no longer support upward reaching leaves, sometimes that can be fixed later on. In the summer, I can plant the mature plant sideways in a grow bed, allowing for the odd curly shaped stem to help the leaves reach upward. Another option would be to prune the stem down to a lower set of leaves. This would allow me to discard any badly shaped stem pieces, and form a stockier trunk, which I really like on a tomato plant that will hold lots of heavy fruit.

Copenhagen cabbage has the same problem as my turnips. Overly long stems that make the leaves hang down the wrong way. The new seedling I sprouted beside it looks comparatively better in shape. New sets of leaves are emerging. The older one is developing a third set. Looks so good to eat, I want to nibble on it.

The propagation chamber is ready for some intervention. A pumpkin that sprouted is trying to escape, pushing with all of it's effort to get out.

Two of the Brussels Sprouts also look strong enough to be removed.

A cabbage, lettuce, and the tiny nicotania (flowering tobacco) seedlings all look too fragile to touch, so they will remain inside the dome to develop. Lately, I have been moving this tray to the windowsill during the daytime where it receives sunlight near a cold window, and in the evening I take it away from the chilling air and let it warm up near my floor heater (72 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit).

In my journal I map out every seed that I plant inside. This really helps me to keep track of what I have planted. Some of the seeds never sprouted (melon, cabbage, nicotania, lettuce). I'll probably consider adding more seeds to these empty patches, and hope for the best.

Here are the three transplants removed from the tray, and given new homes. I try to bury the stem as deep as possible to firmly peg the stem into an upright shape. One of the Brussels Sprouts snapped a super thin and long root, so hopefully the many other roots are still enough to support the plant.

I could have used plugs to start my seeds, but I have never been a fan of those things. Those little nets that never decompose. The peat always forms moss, algae, and fungus, which makes other nearby seedlings dampen off. Even worse, the soft material encourages the plant to make a single weak taproot that does nothing but coils in circles.

My method instead uses a rocky pumice mixed with coconut coir, which allows more oxygen into the roots, it drains better, and forces more outward spreading root divisions. Anybody have other quirky methods they use to get seedling started off well?

These little guys will be allowed to grow closer to the lamp light, and I'm going to move some of the bigger ones out of the way so they can start receiving window light from my desk.