Tomato check-in, around a month after germination. On the left, the pair of plain, generic-looking seed leaves that come first—they’re still stuck together at the tip by a tiny bit of the seed shell. On the right, the true tomato leaves are taking over. See the tomato grow! :)
Spring
Pepper’s eye view
Here’s what the tiny sweet pepper plants would be seeing if they saw like we do, from under the fluorescent tubes in one of the light racks. It has a bit of an alien spacecraft hovering feel. The seedlings would be more pleased with the zillion times stronger real sun, but considering that it still drops down to freezing outside at night, they have to make do with weak substitute sun and indoor warmth as they get an early start on the growing season. These peppers are about a month old, still with only their seed leaves. Welcome to this season’s tiny farming transplant production!
Grass is greener
Yep, the grass is definitely getting greener! It’s the planetary order of things, formerly known as seasons… In the back of my mind, I have this cartoon thought-picture of massive gears slowly turning, an unstoppable, unyielding world machine. That’s what operates above the surface noise of our crazy day-to-day weather. It’s the Earth orbiting, the Sun’s angle changing to bring more or less light and heat, the totality of plants, insects, animals, fungi, bacteria, all of it intertwined, adjusting and adapting to the conditions as best as they can. One big moving picture that we’re part of but overall don’t in the least bit control. Some things are in our control, and others are not. Kind of soothing when you lean into it!
Rain snow storm
Yesterday’s special weather advisory about a bunch of rain turning into a bunch of snow left us with this 7 a.m. scene. Wet, mushy ground covered by heavy, wet snow. Neither rain nor snow were particularly intense, just…wet. It won’t last long.
Hauling water
The seedling room is in a fully modern building with all the modern conveniences like electricity, heating, ample insulation and screened windows well-positioned for a bug-free cross-breeze and lots of natural light. The only thing missing is a handy supply of running water. Drilling for a new well located nearby ended in failure after a couple days of exploration produced only an expensive dry hole. So, until the gutter-fed rain barrels are turned over in warmer weather—overnight freezing of collected rainwater could crack them—I bring over water for the seedlings in 18 liter jugs filled from another well in a building not too far away. Simple systems and the rituals of spring!
Tomato two weeks in
Around two weeks from germination, and the tomatoes are spreading their leaves and aiming for the sun. These Big Beef are growing together in a tray and will be separated into their own cells of soil, and maybe even small pots, all depending ono the weather and how long they stay indoors.
Toddler tomato
In the spirit of dog years and fast-growing plants, this tomato seedling at about 10 days from germination is a toddler, or maybe more an infant. Root, stem, then leaves push out of the seed and up to the light, and eventually toss the dried-out seed coat aside. We don’t need to be amateur biologists to eat a tomato, but remembering the growing journey seems to add to the enjoyment and satisfaction, just like a pinch of salt!