My mom is German and I had the pleasure of living there as a kid, on and off. Do you keep track of your humidity? Today I woke to 46 F and our humidity is 86, and it has been raining here for several days. April ,into May, showers are bringing us back green grass and early blooming flowers. I am waiting for the lilacs to bloom hoping to find some wild mushrooms to enjoy.
Its been a relatively mild winter. Our relative humidity can range between 50 and high 80s depending on the season and time of day. I really notice when the humidity turns into snow and I have to shovel it off my driveway to get out to work in the morning. The blessing is that winter means that I MAY not have to shovel every week and I certainly do not have to mow every week. Thanks for that, always assumed that the colder it got, the less humidity there would be.
Do you have a greenhouse or some sort of atrium? What got you interested in tomatoes? Have you had any success with them? Wish I could upload some photos. I have managed to get at least 3 varieties to produce edible fruit. I shovel feet of snow most winters a few inches to a foot or so at a time. It is good exercise. My first tomatoes were gifted plants from heirloom seeds grown by a neighbor. They were wonderful pure organic acidic marvels varieties were red and yellow jelly beans and a Mortgage lifter and I saved the seeds to try my hand at growing them again and have since started a little grow project each spring under some shop lights in the basement.
It is a great break from the snow shoveling. I am trying a new variety this year. I start a couple dozen of each variety to make sure I have enough and then give away most of them to friends and family once I get them hardened off. I have to fence the garden to protect them from deer and chipmunks..
They were both small round cherry varieties, the one being yellow, possibly a Pomodoro of sorts. These plants were attacked by a tunnel borer pest. In spite of the terrible damage inflicted by this pest the plants did bear fruit.
They will steal the bigger tomatoes though, even when they are still green. It sounds like you have the perfect environment to grow herbs inside. Some are known to repel mosquitoes. I plant basil , lemon balm and catnip by my doors. I am not sure if it works but it makes for a short trip to get basil. Then at night, open everything up to vent the house. This results in low light levels though. Outside I had a lot of lemon grass at one time, which I believe is beneficial in repelling pests.
I think you may be right about herbs in general though, growing well here. My rosemary has done poorly here. Likely because it has to stay in a pot year round and come inside for the winter, which is dry and provides less light, even with grow lights. The furnace dries the air inside and we have to use a humidifier. I suspect that if you had a window sill between the shade and the window, that space would fry the plants. In the winter I open the drapes first thing in the morning to let the light in and then close them up at dusk to add an insulation barrier to the windows.
Interesting about your rosemary. My very first rosemary plant, 4 years on, is and has been for years a very substantial bush and is extremely popular with the birds. Just brushing against the plant as you walk by releases the most wonderful smell.
As a matter of interest, what do you consider a comfortable temperature? Where do you set the thermostat for your furnace?
With regard to climate, there are parts of our province that are much nicer. The Natal Midlands for example. You can even experience all 4 seasons there. Edit: After posting, I remembered that my second largest rosemary bush seeded itself in an old automobile tyre. The tyres were put down by me on a concrete slab for the purposes of growing seedlings. This means that whatever is growing in them has to make do with the volume of soil the tyre can hold. They are, to all intents and purposes, potted.
And this bush is doing just as well as the one in the garden! I took one downstairs and put it under the light hoping it will survive until I can let it go outside. They really do better here in the summer. It is getting them through the winter here that is the problem. We really only get about 8 hours of light in the midwinter mixed with the dry air, they get pretty homesick, lol. Many of the plants that thrive in southern climates, we grow as annuals.
I set my thermostat at 70F. Comfortable is relative. Gotta go to work…later? I find your posts very interesting, lots of general lifestyle info to be gleaned there. I have pen pals all over the world but none in the US, unless Brazil counts? Those temps are interesting. Your 70 is about as much as I can comfortably bear here. There definitely seems to be a difference generating heat from cold as opposed to cold from heat. Example: Annual plant dies, rosemary seeds itself in pot. When I Googled Wisconsin, I was surprised to see how far north it was.
Almost on the same line of latitude as Germany. Looks like a truly beautiful part of the world. The cities have lovely names, Madison for example…. Edit, just to keep things educational, We had light rain last night. I too really enjoy learning from you. I would take our conversation to email if you wish. It got nice enough yesterday that I was able to open my windows and get some fresh air into my house- Wooo hooo.
Tonight they are warning that some of the tender not native to this climate plants that came up with the warm days, may suffer frost damage as the temps go back down near freezing again…then we will be back up to 60F by the afternoon.
That is pretty typical spring here as our sun angle changes. I decided that was a waste of a month of my life and I would just buy established plants and try to keep them alive all year. I have one that is doing well grow lights in the basement and one that was in my south facing window that was dying so is now also under the grow lights.
Some plants have to wait until the soil warms into the 50s F, which can take another couple weeks. Have a great weekend and if you wish, give me your email address and we can leave this poor site some relief from us.
Thanks, yes we can certainly email direct, that way we can also share photos. Nevertheless, I get the feeling our Garden Betty is a very savvy lady, and like the good gardener she is, would probably transplant us to a more appropriate spot:. No doubt it will help stimulate interesting discussions beneficial to both Linda and the public. Linda, what do you say? Can we ramble on right here? I never did finish my rosemary story :.
And I did feel bad. And you know what? Learn how your comment data is processed. Am a student who is interrested in all branches of knowledge. I love heirloom varieties because almost all of them boast greater flavor than that found in hybrids.
I am totally a brand new beginner with growing my own food as well as successfully growing plants that thrive! Feed me with your wisdom and knowledge! Alicia S. The Million Gardens Movement doesn't just help you grow a garden, we're also bringing gardens to kids across the country — and you can help.
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Million Gardens Movement , Plants. By Brian Barth on March 12, Brian Barth. Growing tomatoes from seed isn't hard, but there are a few things to be aware of. Time and Place Tomato seeds are almost always started indoors — whether in a greenhouse or a sunny window ledge — and then transplanted to beds once they have at least a few leaves and an established root system. Sign up for your Modern Farmer Weekly Newsletter. Notify of. Most Voted Newest Oldest. Inline Feedbacks.
Lupayi Moses Bojo. Tina Botelho. Can it be sent electronically? Ryan the native gardener. To improve your shot at success, here are my top tips for growing tomatoes from seed. If you are reusing plastic cell packs, wash them well in warm, soapy water to remove old soil and accumulated salts. My favourite containers are small paper cups with several holes punched in the bottoms, because I can write the variety names on the cups. Also use a new bag of high-quality seed-starting mix.
Avoid cheap imitations, which are often the cause of seedling failure. Write variety names on them with waterproof markers, or you can make labels from utility tape. Labels work better than little stakes, which wiggle around amongst the tomato roots and can be accidentally lost. I learned this one year when a gust wind toppled the table that held dozens of seedlings.
Most survived with prompt repotting, but I had to guess which markers went with which tomatoes. Labels work better.
The furry coating on tomato seeds softens and gummifies when water is added, which helps the seeds stick in place among soil particles. The seed coats also release chemicals into the soil that enhance growing conditions for the soon-to-come roots. I use a pump spray bottle to thoroughly moisten the seed starting mix, which can take several hours.
When the containers feel heavy with water, I use a pencil eraser to make shallow holes for the seeds, and cover and press them in with my finger. Then I spritz more water over the top.
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