Yes! Most of the transplanted plants grow well in the bed. No rodents, I put some nets around to prevent even cats entering, but those beds are shared with strawberries, I see occasionally some sow bugs (or pill bugs) all over the ripe fruits, there are also some millipedes and sometimes slugs. Are those bugs guilty?
Sigh, I’ve some trouble with some citrus plants too. leaves keep falling off although I don’t see scales.
Yes! for the legos! Like @small_h, I like that bonsai.
I killed 2 ficus bonsai in my life. Some needs to be watered several times on a hot and dry day! My orchids in comparison are more difficult to be killed except if the roots are permanently soaked in water and they are rotting. I killed my first one like this. But seducing them to flourish is another issue.
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They are beautiful!
I’m looking at the seed catalogs now.
Questions for those have grew pepper from seeds, are they more difficult to germinate compared to, for example, tomato seeds? I’ve tried a few times, not much success. I usually buy young plants.
Naf, pepper seeds really benefit from bottom heat, higher germination temperatures than tomatoes. Usually, 84-90 F (29-32 C).
Slugs can easily kill seedlings. Pill/sowbugs are less likely. Millipedes typically eat decaying material. If the seeds rotted, and disappeared, millipedes may have consumed the dead seed.
Citrus are heavy feeders. Periodically, adding a pinch of dolomitic lime to the water may help if the water one is using is low in Calcium. The fastest way to deal with fertilizer issues is to take the plant(s) outside and spray fertilizer on the foliage. Citrus are very good at absorbing nutrients through their leaves. Try different types of fertilizer, one per week. Main nutrients needed include: Nitrogen, Calcium and Iron.
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Interesting, I have a young peach tree it’s 3 or 4 years old now. It has produced fruit each year, only a couple peaches and generally they have been eaten by the deer before I could surround the tree to protect it.
My pear tree’s also produce nice fruit, but my chainsaw was broken so I didn’t prune them down this year, so I’m not sure what to do with them in the spring. They are way overgrown with tall upward branches.
I also planted a pomegranate tree, cherry tree and two more fig tree’s to join the one I currently have. My fig tree has never produced fruit in the 6 ± years I’ve had it, hopefully it’s two friends will give it a hand.
The actual garden is my wife’s job and honestly her harvest hasn’t been that good the past couple years. I’m going to have to supervise her this year, her production better increase!! She also had a hydroponic indoor tower garden which yields decent results for off season fresh produce. Mostly lettuces and herbs etc. Personally I’ve been tempted to try and throw some weed seeds in the thing just to see what happened. lol (I’m not kidding) lol
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Does Mrs NJ have an account here? Would like to know her point of view on this.
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Thanks for the encouragement, I’ll try to grow them, I think my seedling heat pad maximum temperature is around 78ºF / 26ºC, need to check. Maybe I should get a bread proofing box, and 1 thing for all, germinating pepper seeds too! 
Hahahahaha duh!!! Obviously not!! If she did my post would be about how great her maters’ are. lol
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For me, some peppers are harder than others, for example chinenses like one of the scotch bonnets.
Here is a picture of my recently harvested aji amarillos.
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Only tried with the shishito the last year, and I didn’t find them particularly difficult. I think only one starter pot ended up a dud. I threw in two more seeds, after several weeks, and those came up like the others.
Just adding that I don’t use heading pads, but since it’s still quite cold in early spring in Boston, I don’t usually start until about April.
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Yay, Aji Amarillo! Maybe they’ll keep producing into next spring.
Agreed, C. chinense are slower to get going and need very warm soil to start 86-90 F (30-35C). I have less soil disease issues with C. chinense out in the garden.
One advantage of heating mats is that the seedling killers, Damp off fungi, tend to be discouraged in warmer soils.
Thought it’d be amusing to have a look into one of two seed fridges in the basement:
Packets are stored in plastic bins and bulk seed in various vials and jars. The second fridge has some seed, but is mostly filled with dormant tubers, like Water Chestnuts, Apios and others which won’t survive our winters. Well, Apios and others will survive the winters but will likely get eaten by voles if left outside.
One can imagine knowing what’s in each fridge could be a nightmare! Years ago, I designed a database to keep track of everything. Nothing goes in the fridge without first being entered in the database.
The database also lets me know which seeds can be pitched, what to compost or toss around bare ground to make more space in the fridge. Last year, I was surprised to find a big patch of Sugar Snap peas growing “wild” by the driveway. I had dumped excess, older seed out near a woodpile. Amazing the deer or rabbits didn’t find them.
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What a shame that those beautiful outside Variegata di Castelfranco leaves are too bitter for eating- they’re just gorgeous. You’ve really put a lot of work into your radicchio plantings.
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I’m glad you mentioned your issue with Baker Creek, I get their email. Johnny’s Selected Seeds is a great place, and so is Nichols Garden Nursery, I’ve ordered a lot of seeds from Nichols and Johnny’s.
Now I need to look up Seeds From Italy.
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With Baker Creek, it’s hit and miss. There seems to be more issues with the odd varieties. They do offer a 2 year guarantee, so you can get reimbursed. They’re good folks, but some of their suppliers are not careful enough.
Yes, radicchio is work. Things like hoops and plastic are kicking around the garden space, getting multiple uses and being moved around. Last spring, the hoops and plastic were used to keep rain off of butterhead and red romaine lettuce.
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Some of my February pictures.
La Ratte Fingerling potatoes
These are sweet peas, so we won’t be eating them.
One of my pluots
This might be my leaning Blenheim Apricot in a container.
I think these are Sugar Daddy Sugar Snaps
My crazily pruned fig. I think Desert King
Five or so year old Rocotto chile plant.
Also not a veggie, but my orchids might bloom again!
This one is inside. In a Wardian Case. I went through a phase, and bought several. The story of these might be one of the coolest stories ever.
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Wet ground- I keep forgetting that some people get rain…
You must be in So Cal. I used to live there. Are the winters getting even drier? We get most of our rain between December and March, and some years are way wetter than others.
Haven’t planted anything new for the spring because the yard is being dug up.
I did save some of the previous plants, which have been relocated - and some I consolidated into larger pots or the (previously failed) raised beds. Let’s see.
BUT. The dried white peas I planted on a lark a while a back (and made a makeshift trellis for out of used tomato stakes) HAVE FRUITED! They are still small and not lush, so I need to do something about that. But as I was removing the trellis stakes today to straighten it out (the gardener is a plant murderer…), I noticed pods on several stalks. SO EXCITING!
Kale is still going, and there are a few tomatoes in the raised bed.
And, because I can’t help myself, I squirted out some tomato seeds and have soaked them… if the raised bed plants are going to try, I might as well as put some decent seedlings in there instead of the insipid tomato plants currently growing.
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