Updated August 21, 2021
(I have translated this post with Google translation. Feel free to let me know if you see any mistakes)
My God the wait was too long! I couldn't wait to start gardening season. And this year again, the season will have some surprises in store for us.
Despite the vagaries of the weather and / or the difficulties I will encounter throughout the season, I am so happy to start my 3rd gardening season. Gardening is really good for my well being that I could not miss it this new season.
A glimpse of the garden at the start of seasons 1, 2 and 3
This year throughout the season, I decided to document the progress of my vegetable garden so that you can see the various twists and turns. You will be able to follow its evolution from the seed, from the seedlings to the transfer to the garden until the harvest.
MARCH 2021
But which seeds to choose?
Seeds selection
It all started in March when I finally started to grow my seedlings. This year, I wanted to try several seedlings at home. Well, I must admit that I wanted to get rid of the seeds that I had bought 3 years ago when I started my gardening experience. So I had to use them.
At that time, I had bought the seeds without reading the explanatory leaflet which indicated the expiration date. In fact, I never imagined the seeds had an expiration date.
Another mistaken belief on my part, I believed that sowing the seeds on the ground was enough to grow the vegetables. Yes, this is doable for some vegetables in tropical countries. But unfortunately this is not possible in my region. So if I wanted to grow eggplants for example, I finally understood that I had to start the seedlings indoors several weeks before transplanting them into the vegetable garden.
And this is the case with several of the vegetables that I have chosen to grow in my vegetable garden this year: hot pepper (Habanero), eggplant, pepper. In tropical countries, the seeds of these plants, once sown directly in the garden soil, would have ample time to grow well. While in our region with only 3 summer months, if you decide to sow the seeds directly on the ground as soon as it starts to get hot and there is no more risk of frost, it is very likely that the vegetable may not have enough time to grow or you may end up with a fruitless plant when harvesting in the fall.
Growing my own seedlings
So having learned my lesson, this year I proudly started my seedlings of hot peppers, peppers, eggplants and a vegetable that comes from Africa that was sent to me by my mother. It is called "Pointe Noire" but I discovered that it looked like Bok Choy. And I admit that I was well equipped and fairly well organized: small pots, seedling soil, sticks to clearly indicate the names of the vegetables, non-erasable marker. In short ! all the kit needed to grow my own seedlings.
MID-APRIL 2021
But when can we visit the garden?
Quick tour of the garden
By mid-April, I couldn't help but go for a quick visit to check the condition of the garden. But above all to see the work that awaited us to start the season.
Germination phase
Well ! I followed the steps to promote germination.
All the seeds were placed in containers made for germination and to my surprise, a few days later, I saw "Pointe Noire" seedlings. Why is this a surprise? I had been told that it was a vegetable that took a long time to germinate. It was a mistake ! It grows fairly quickly in contact with the sun.
I must admit that in my living room, even in winter, you can easily reach temperatures of 28 C due to the fact that I have a large bay window facing south-east. This means that during the afternoon, the sun is strong. Result, ideal conditions when you want to grow seedlings.
I believe that the plants believed to be in their natural environment. So in less than a week, look what happened ⏬⬇️🤦🏾♀️🙀😬🤔
So I very quickly discovered that the three plants (Eggplant, Peppers, Hot Pepper) that I chose to start the seedlings all look alike when they start to germinate. But this time, I promised myself to avoid the mistake of last year, during which I forgot to use sticks to write the names of the plants to be able to distinguish them clearly.
In fact, last year, I had started sowing tomatoes and cucumbers and I simply wrote the names of the plants in a marker on the small cardboard container. And guess what happened? While moistening the seeds in the cardboard, the marker was erased and I no longer knew which plant I was dealing with! It must be said that last year, I did not yet have the experience that I now have allowing me to distinguish certain plants.
So this year, better organization in order to avoid the mistakes of the past. The plants were stored in different bins and the non-erasable marker was used on the sticks.
Tilling the land Phase 1 - Visit in April 17 &19
The quick visit I made to the garden allowed me to see the state in which it was and thus give me an idea of the work that awaited us.
Of course, it was essential to prepare the soil to receive the seeds and plants. So we had to start by plowing the land and rearranging or preparing the garden beds.
Unfortunately, unlike the other plots of the community garden made up of a group of 20 people, our team is made up of me and my 2 boys, and sometimes two other people come to help us. And when that tempts him, my husband is added to our group, it is true that he worked when we went to the garden while I was available after my work since I only worked in the mornings. However, his absence didn't bother me too much because when he joined us, he tended to prefer to sit down and watch us work.
We tried to go to the garden when the temperature allowed it every day after my work. The advantage of working at home and only the mornings allowed me to spend a lot more time in the garden. I must admit that this has contributed enormously to the well-being of my mental health because nothing is more helpful than working in the garden.
Here is the result of our work. Ah! I must admit that for this part of the job my husband helped us.
"Did you know that? Gardening is good for your physical and mental health"
Help ! My living room has turned into a greenhouse
Well, of course as usual I always do things big. I wasn't sure all the seeds were going to germinate when I planted them all 🤷🏽♀️. I found myself invaded by several seedlings, I had no other choice but to transform my living room into a greenhouse.
Here is the result, forced cohabitation with my tropical plants.
Leggy seedlings ! 🙀😞
Well, here yet another of my mistakes, I forgot that I was still a novice and it is not two years of experience that will turn me into a pro! 🤷🏽♀️😁😂
You see, when I started to grow my own seedlings, I didn't have the presence of mind to document myself. It's seeing this (look pictures ⬇️⏬⬇️⏬) that I discovered that the "seedling becomes leggy when too low light correlates with too high temperatures" Remember what I told you above about the temperature in my living room? After several searches on Youtube, I finally managed to find two interesting videos explaining the phenomenon to me and what to do about it.
Well, it's not my fault the temperature is so high in my living room!
At that time, I couldn't wait for the weather to be right outside so I could start my gardening OUTSIDE. Unfortunately, we still had to be patient because the outside temperature was still too cold. Looks like winter didn't want to leave us.
So, I had work. I had to follow the instructions of the tutorials watched on Youtube if I did not want to lose all my plants. I was a little disgusted but it was my fault and it taught me a lesson. I take this as an apprenticeship and next year I would know what to do to avoid this kind of problem.
END OF APRIL 2021
Is this the last preparation before the big transfer?
Tilling phase 2 - Visit of April 23, 27 & 29
At this point, I just can't wait: Transfer the seedlings that are growing in the garden. I want to get my living room back, my tropical plants want to take their places. The weather outside is starting to get good and that gives me hope.
So I ask my team (my boys and my husband included) to till again and to organize the garden beds well because there was a section with which we had difficulty. It was a section of the garden that was difficult to till as there were a lot of tough weeds and roots that weren't pulling out. A good shovel! And hop ! We managed to create beautiful flower beds. The video ⬇️shows the result. Look also the 3 first pictures ⏬
The photos also show that the bush which was in the middle of the field was cut. The disappearance of the bush allowed us to create a space to install our equipment (last 2 photos).
BEGINNING OF MAY 2021
Is it time to transfer the plants to the garden and sow the seeds?
The plants are ready for transfer to the garden. Yes, as far as I'm concerned ... My living room has been taken by storm, I have no more space, the seedlings are growing well, the plants are leggy and I'm starting to get bored. I want to reclaim the space for my tropical plants because living together is starting to be painful.
Beginning of the transfer of plants / sowing of some seeds in the garden - May 7 visit
I am so happy to be able to make room in my living room. So I decided to start transferring a few pepper and eggplant plants. But one of my neighbours in the community garden strongly advised against it. It would seem that it would be wiser to wait when there is no possibility of frost on the ground towards the end of June to transfer the eggplant plants to the garden.
I decide to ignore my neighbour's advice and take this opportunity to sow the seeds of "Pointe Noire".
1st Frost Advisory: We Didn't Expect It - May 9 visit
Well, that had to happen to me! It is only when I decide to transfer some plants to the garden that the next day we are informed that there would be frost overnight. I didn't have anything to cover the plants so I just had to hope that some plants would resist.
I did not worry about the seeds sown because when we tilled the first time, I had sown the sugar snap peas seeds which I was told that even in the event of frost on the ground it would survive. Well it was the only seeds that I had that seemed to withstand the cool temperature. On the other hand, my eggplants, hot peppers and peppers were affected by the frost.
MID-MAY 2021
Small outing to get the plants used to the garden - May 15
Okay, since the plants I transferred to the garden were affected by the frost, I decided to be cautious as I didn't want to lose my plants by transferring them all to the garden. It would have hurt me a lot to lose them because since March I have worked very hard to grow them. So I decided to keep them at home again.
I also took the opportunity to take them outside because it seems that this helps prepare the plants for transfer to the garden.
Last night before the big transfer - May 17
Ah! At this point, I am hopeful that the frost has just passed so I make the decision to bring all my plants to the garden the next day. Luckily I didn't have them all transferred.
Bye, bye, bye !!! 👋
Transfer to the garden and keep on sowing- May 18 visit
Finally the Big Day! I couldn't wait because my tropical plants needed to get their spot back.
The temperature was perfect so I decided to bring all the plants in order to transfer them to the garden. I also took the opportunity to finish sowing the following seeds: Kale, Swiss Chard, Spinach, Sorrel, Amaranth, Chinese cabbage, Lettuce, Arugula.
END OF MAY 2021
Plant condition following Frost 1 - May 23 visit
During this visit to the garden, I was able to see with great relief that despite the frost, the plants managed to survive. Phew! What a relief because I thought I lost them!
2nd Frost Advisory: We really didn't expect it - May 30 visit
Ouch! Ouch! I didn't watch the weather forecast which caught us all off guard. There was a frost advisory during the last weekend of May. I was starting to wonder if it was a good decision to transfer all the plants to the garden.
But OK ! After the beautiful, almost scorching temperature, we did not expect to have frost. As far as I'm concerned, the last frost was at the beginning of May.
I was too impatient, I couldn't wait to rid my living room of the plants and make room for my tropical plants.
It's out of my control and I decide to adopt a Zen attitude by telling myself: "the strongest plants will survive". And I pray that I can harvest a few plants from the hundred seedlings that I started in my living room. Yes, there were a lot!