Makeshift Greenhouse

I’m not sure where I read about this, either in a gardening magazine or online, but it was so clever I couldn’t wait to try it out. I call it my Bed-in-a-Bag Greenhouse. How lucky was it that I was in the market for a new comforter during seed starting season? Seeds started this afternoon included:

Summer Squash: Goldtender/Burpee 2010

Summer Squash: Fordhook Zucchini/Burpee 2010

Cucumber: Armenian Burpless/Botanical Interests 2010

Cucumber: Bush Champion/Burpee 2010

Cucumber: Lemon/Lake Valley Seed 2006

Okra: Clemson Spineless/Cornucopia/2011

Eggplant: Little Prince/Renee’s Garden 2011

Watermelons: Rainbow Sherbet/Renee’s Garden 2011

Thai Basil: Queenette/Renee’s Garden Seeds 2011 

Naturtiums: Cherries Jubilee/Renee’s Garden Seeds 2011

I hadn’t intended to purchase more seeds but during a trip to OSH to pick up seed starting mix I could not resist the temptation.

 I’m excited to start Thai basil, I haven’t tried it from seed before.

This will also be my first attempt at growing eggplant from seed. The variety, Little Prince, is a container type and was recommended by another gardener shopping for seeds today. Fingers crossed. I had seen a sign for a miniature eggplant at a nursery last year but sadly, the stock had been sold out.

Okra will be making its first appearance in my garden this year if all goes as planned.

But the watermelon seed purchase was a disappointment as there were only about 10 seeds included. At $2.99 a package I would expect a few more seeds. According to the package there should have been three varieties of fruit but it appeared to only contain seeds for two types: Yellow Doll which bears yellow-fleshed melons and New Orchid an orange fruit bearing variety. Tiger Baby, which produces pink fruited melons, was missing. The seeds are dyed for identification purposes.

 While three types of cucumber may seem excessive to some our family should have no problem putting each to good use as my youngest son likes to eat them out of hand straight off the vine and I am a fan of chilled cucumber soup, tzatziki and cucumber in my tabouleh.

            I also poked a few more pea, turnip and chard seeds into the raised bed I started back on February 12 and added a few more sweetpea seeds to a large container. In the corners of the bed I sowed seeds of several types of cosmos and a zinnia. There wasn’t much else to be done since the yard was so muddy from all the recent rain. Navigation was not only messy but precarious in spots.

            New today in the garden were a couple of cilantro sprouts I had direct sowed last month. Cilantro is difficult to grow here in summer due to blistering heat but the variety I chose is billed as slow-bolting.