Snow and seedlings

A heavy wet snow is falling, reminding me that plenty of time is left before real work begins in the garden. I was all up tight about my things to do in the garden. But now, seeing this snow fall, I am more at ease.

I have about 8 flats of tomatoes, cabbage and lettuce started. Many of the tomatoes are to be grafted with Colosus root stock (which are also well started). The plan is to place about 15 grafted Brandywine tomatoes in one row and regular seedlings in the next row and have an easy comparison of yield.

I have re-potted the cabbage into 6 packs. These will be ready for the ground in a week or two. So will the lettuce I’ve started for my smaller garden.

In a week or two (March 1st) peppers can be started. And tomatoes will need grafting for some and re-potting for most. This is going to stretch my enclosure’s capacity to the max. My florescent lights can support 4 flats and the new metal halide light about 10 flats.

The new 650 watt metal halide light is working well. I did attach a venting line to the light but it is not needed. The line is attached to a 6 inch fan, which is far too loud and far too much volume to just keep the bulb cool. I wanted to use the heat of the bulb as a second heat source.

Heavy wet snow on Feb 20th.

The snow is great news for our area. It is expected to be equal to about 2 inches or rain. We really need the moisture.