Part of the secret to my gardening style which embodies “organized chaos” and contradictory, apparent lack of sufficient space and material resources for the number of seeds I start and plants I grow, is sort of based on “Just In Time” production concept.
So just as the tomatoes are starting to sprout and fill up the limited “Winter Paradise” seedling nursery space in the house, the weather outside is moving on from late winter thaw to early spring — above freezing daytime temps and mostly upper 20’s (28°F is the magic number), low 30’s to 40’s nighttime — and the “Garage V8 Nursery” can be emptied of frost and light freeze tolerant, started plants and seedlings. AND the unheated garage temperatures are responding to the outdoor rising temperatures, enough for older tomato seedlings that need low 50’s°F and above to grow without being stunted....
...Today, I planted out the remaining lettuce in divided candy/chocolate tray since they were at their limit. They haven’t been hardened but maybe they will manage OK? I’m planting them in the patio SIP and Earthbox without proper prep (refill/lime/fertilizer strip). This might be a mistake... but I WILL prep them properly for planting heavy feeder warm weather plants later on.
- KGP.SIP2 - Sugar Magnolia, Super Sugar Snap at the far end by the watering tube, and Sugar Sprint down the center, surrounded by Anuenue, Blushed Butter Oaks, Jack Ice, Olga, and Optima lettuces from the divided candy tray (look how COMPLETELY root-bound they were).
- - Loosely covered with translucent tub secured with stakes
- KG (Kitchen Garden) - Sugar Sprint
- KGP.EB - Anuenue, Jack Ice, Olga, and Optima lettuces from the divided candy tray (not hardened off) + a winter survivor purple brassica
- - Loosely covered with vented plastic bowl, cut-off open cap bottle, and boxes and weighted with green coated wire grid (and shaded though not pictured)
- Hardening off the oldest Dazzling Blue kale and lettuce plants Anuenue, Blushed Butter Oaks, Jack Ice, Olga, and Optima — placed in shade on top of the (unused) rabbit hutch against the NE family room wall on the patio.
...These Dazzling Blue kale plants were started on December 6 to try growing them as Winter Garden crop in he unheated garage which went down to sub-freezing temps 24°F and above. I have been harvesting some baby to small leaves. It seems like they are at the right size to plant out NOW. Would this work for particularly winter hardy broccoli?
...The lettuce seedlings were started on Jan. 30th. So end of January looks like a good timing for lettuce. I should start another batch for succession planting (I guess I’ll use the -now empty- divided candy tray again since that worked out well.)
...I had to start sowing the pre-germinated pea seeds outside since the massive sprouting Shimofuri F6 seeds took me by surprise and I had to turn over about 1/6 of the WPPH space I had been intending to dedicate to peas seedlings. The peas will be going outside soon in any case, and then this space can be used for growing older pepper seedlings that won’t need the extra warmth inside the covered and heat mat-warmed Winter Paradise shelves.
) and some have sprouted while I wasn’t looking
Fedco Seeds-Emerald Archer Shell Peas
— is it a kind of Chard? The sage were started from seeds last spring and had been growing in the exposed windowbox-on-an-old-picnic bench. I Uppotted them to 1 gal and 2 gal containers for the winter but wasn’t sure if they would make it since they had not been established in the ground, so I put them in “Siberia”. I think they should be fine if planted in much larger container or an appropriate location in the ground. But last time, I lost sage because the location was full sun in the summer but full shade (house shadow) in the colder months, and probably also too moisture holding.... need to see if I have a good place to put them (white sage and broadleaf sage).
)
Only a partial and moderate infestation in the house, no doubt thanks to the previously released ladybeetle Indoor Garden Patrol, and so far none in the Winter Paradise. But the Garage V8 Nursery was hit and localized infestation is very severe, meaning the garage was too cold for the previously release ladybeetles to stay active, but warm enough under the lights for the aphids, although they didn’t spread out. I’ve released the last of the refrigerator-stored hibernating ladybeetles 
) — I get mine via amazon, but have seen them in garden centers that also keep/sell bait and earthworms (refrigerator). The adults will be thirsty/hungry after the forced hibernation and will start in on the smorgasbord right away, even though they might not stay on the plant as long as you might wish for, and once they lay eggs and larvae hatch, they will stay on and crawl into every nook and cranny of the plant foliage, demolishing the aphids. The few aphids that might be on seedlings will disappear right away, and larger plants can handle light infestation that might remain to feed and keep the ladybug life cycles going. It’s a good idea to get ladybug food to feed the adults if you don’t have any flowering plants to provide the pollen they need.
(I gave away some individually labeled lettuce seedlings, and one of the Pinocchio Orange and kale plants in return 
