It's time to garden

I got some tomatoes, Chinese cabbage and some Kohlrabi seed planted a couple weeks ago. Most of the tomato seed germinated as did the Chinese cabbage but only part of the Kohlrabi. I usually have trouble with all of them germinating. I simply replant the kohlrabi seed that didn't come up, so we'll see. I have one seed tray that has six dozen holes, and I'd like to have most of them full of kohlrabi transplants. Later when the kohlrabi has formed heads, we like to pick one or two a day and enjoy them by the garden. A little Lawry's salt on them, and they are pretty good.

The Chinese cabbage are looking good. They are in individual pots, so they will be easy to transplant later this spring. They are frost hardy, so we can transplant them toward the end of March. The same with the kohlrabi. Kohlrabi might be a good plant for you to experiment with. They grow a bulb above the ground about the size of an apple and have a mild sweet taste.

I plant my tomato seeds in decent-sized plastic trays, say 2 or 3 inches or so. I may plant 20 seeds in this size. Then when the tomato plants get about 3 inches tall, I transplant them into 3-by-3 or 4-by-4 plastic pots using potting soil. I fill the plastic pot with damp potting soil and then use an old carpenter's big pencil and poke a hole in the center of the potting soil. Then take a single little tomato plant and poke it in the hole. It can go in to about any depth. Push the soil in and fill in the pencil hole then water it in.

It's important to have your seedlings from the time they come up on forward as they grow to either be in direct sunlight or under lights. I use standard 4-foot fluorescent lights, and I try to have the light bulb about 1.5 to 2 inches above the top of the plant. Watch your plants because the lights can sunburn the plants. Simply raise the bulbs up a half inch or so.

I haven't gotten my peppers planted but they are next. I plant them in 2-by-2 individual pots. Once they come up I leave them in the same pot until I transplant into the garden. Peppers take 9 to 12 weeks from planting the seed to be ready to transplant into the garden. Peppers don't seem to handle cool weather so wait till your garden is warm and the weather as well to transplant.

I plant my pepper seeds in a damp mix of potting soil and seed starting mix, say 50-50. I make sure I mark all my plants. I've found out that different peppers have different germination rates, so if you don't mark you may end up with way too many of one color or kind. I either use an old plastic venetian blind or a new one and cut it in 3- to 4-inch pieces. Then write on them with permanent black marker. Works pretty good. Where the blinds are a thin plastic one can cut them with a regular pair of scissors. I've tried the warmers that go under your starter trays and I've not had very good luck with them. I wonder if mine haven't gotten too hot and ruined the germination.

One can plant their peas, spinach, garlic and such right now. Weather is super nice, but I'd wait for things such as potatoes and such. One thing I ordered this year is some Zucchini squash seed that don't need germinating. They are parthenocarpic plants or self-germinating. I ordered some Golden Glory, which I read were parthenocarpic so we should be good. Each plant has both male and female flowers.

If I haven't had my soil tested I fertilize just the rows that I'm planting and not the whole garden. I sprinkle on some 12/12/12 or Triple 13 and then sprinkle on some lime as well. I always till the fertilizer and lime into the soil. I wouldn't use just nitrogen. You may get the soil too hot and ruin your garden.