May 2-4 Planting

Officially it's The May 24 weekend even though it's only May 17th. Oddly, we in Canada celebrate Queen Victoria's birthday although they don't in England. The May 2-4 is an important date in Canada as it is usually the date when people "open their cottages" for the season, youngster buy and consume a 2-4 (case of 24 bottles of beer) and gardeners can usually safely plant their gardens without fear of frost. Although it was 3C in Toronto last night, I think it's time to start planting if for no other reason than the tomato seedlings I started indoors in March are now too tall for the soil they're standing in. I have had them out in the sun (and rain, lots of rain) for the last 10 days to harden off the seedlings.

Beefmaster tomatoes on the top right planted March 3'14

Martin and I have been repairing containers, replacing the soil. Some of the grow buckets have been on the roof for 3 years and the plastic is getting brittle from all that exposure to the elements. We've had to get a few more buckets from our local Loblaws (thank you very much!) and replaced those that are cracked and broken. Also,  this year I made sure I used PRO-MIX HP (High Porosity) which is supposed to have better water retention properties. Last year I bought BX by mistake. The containers are ready to go and connected to the irrigation system. 

Spinach in homemade Terrarium

The terrarium has worked extremely well for starting seedlings! I started spinach indoors under the grow lamp as well as outdoors in the homemade terrarium. Although they were both planted at the same time, those planted outdoors are larger. No electricity required - just sunshine and a little water.

Spinach seedlings from Indoor (Fluorescent Light)

Overall, the seedling have done very well, both those started under grow lights and those in the homemade terraria. I have only started my own seedlings once and so am pleased with the results and will do this again. 

I'll post some photos from the roof this weekend. Happy May 2-4, one rule though, I have to save the beer for after my final trip up the ladder!