Cool-Weather Greens 2011: Hardening Off + Salad Ready (Already)

Hard to believe just two weeks ago we transplanted our tiny seed starts into these larger containers.

 

Yesterday we walked to Bruce's to pick up the results of two more weeks under light in a room-temperature house. Yow! They must have grown a third of an inch a day. Time-lapse photography would be fun here.

Next we'll take our hardy transplants and harden them off, a process nicely described here by Johnny's Seeds via Washington State University. (If you don't live in a cold-weather climate, I suspect the term is meaningless, but as noted at the link, hardening off is both a season extender and important for intensive gardening.)

These plants will be happier once acclimated to their preferred temperature range, about perfect right now in Chicago, with lows just above freezing.

Click to enlarge the

 beautiful joker lettuce...or is it jester?

Here's a side-by-side shot of seeds started on the same day--outdoors by me using the winter-sowing method (right) and indoors by Bruce. Quite a difference, though our still-tiny starts in the box will surge with the increased light.

Thanks, Bruce!

Heirloom Seedling Update

We started our planning in February, I was putting seeds into potting mix not long after. I've been growing--335 seedlings to be exact--for 3 months and my body's telling me it's the middle of July.

H2 came over and took some great pics.








I barely have room in my seedling light rack to fit all the plants shown in the pictures above; an additional 160 seedlings have either been planted on one of our roofs or transferred to H2's rooftop greenhouse.

Coming up with a seed starting schedule that works off of our average last frost date and makes the most of our limited light rack space has been a challenge. It was a great learning experience; if you have the chance to do this with a few people you know, I'd encourage you to give it a shot.