Since the tomato plants were growing up into the lights, I decided to move the front set of lights up a few inches. And since the plants on the left are newly sprouted, I switched some of the tall plants into the left tub. That way the short plants would be closer to the lower back lights.
Why do my plants follow the sun? It is not like they have a brain and a central nervous system. They do have cells and those cells need a certain environment to grow properly. So why is it that my Cilantro (coriander) is bent? The cells on the shady side of the plant grow bigger and the cells on the sunny side of the plant are smaller or more compact. This causes the plant to lean towards the sun and because it is sitting in my window, the sunlight is filtering in mainly from one side. How do I help my plants grow straight and tall? Simply turn them around as often as needed. The faster the plant grows, the more often you'll need to do this. I turn my Cilantro about once a day. The second photo should really be first but it will not let me change it on my phone.
I mentioned yesterday that I would share more about the jalapeño peppers as well as the Keystone Giant Bell peppers that I am growing. I have been growing both in my garden for a number of years. I've also grown Serrano peppers and Cayenne peppers in the past. I really didn't use the Cayenne peppers so I'm not growing them again. I'm the only one who likes spicy food in my family and medium is enough heat for me. I will probably buy the Serrano from a green house this year and transplant them. I just didn't have enough room. I doubled my broccoli plants and added Swiss chard this year to my sprouting tubs. Peppers like heat. They need a warm climate to get started. I placed a heating pad under the tub directly under the peat pots with the peppers. My basement is cold so this helps them germinate and more seeds germinate this way. They transplant easily while they are little so if one pot remains empty and if I get a few in another I can just move a some. This year all the Bells are sprouting. Yay! You can see I set the heating pad to low. I've used medium once or twice. Depends on the chill in the air.
It's that time of year again. My gardening is off to a great start and I have renewed energy to work on it. My daughter is beginning her Personal Progress in April, and Moms can complete their's as well. Gardening is my main project for the value Faith. Heirloom tomatoes can take months longer than hybrid tomatoes to even bloom, much less produce fruit, so I started them in January around the 2nd or 3rd. I'm growing Cherokee Purple and Pink Brandywine yet again. Yum! The second tub holds the seeds that I planted last week. So far the cabbage has sprouted. It's probably due to the heating pad on that end to help the jalapeño seeds sprout. Jalapeños take at least 3 weeks, if not 4 weeks to sprout, so if you haven't started yours yet, you still have a little bit of time. More on that tomorrow!
