#the great seedling saga of 2021

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Slightly shitty photos, but, sunflower update: I think these might be mutants or something because what the hell???????? HOW did they get so big and how are they still in bloom and attracting lots of bees and birds.

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🌱 seedling update 🌱

Every year around april, a Dutch supermarket hands out free seeds with every €15 euro of groceries. It's very much a "collect them all!" type of thing except with plants, so you never know what you're going to get and often end up with very surprising plants. This year they've paired them up into mutually beneficial "buddies" and even gave explanations of why they help each other, along with how to grow them and when to harvest. It's a great way to teach children more about plants and growing food, and for me personally it's just fun to try and grow them.

So I have some new additions to the windowsill vegetable patch!

Top left: endive. Top right: purple mexican aster (apparently??). Bottom two: agastache (licorice mint)

I have also now moved one of the spinach plants into a glass of water (that I'll put nutrients and clean water into very regularly), as an experiment to see if this'll grow well. As far as I know, spinach should do great in water, but I guess we'll find out!

It's definitely getting more and more crowded on my windowsill, but I am working on some solutions for that too.

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The tomatoes are moving to the new house today

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🌱 seedling update 🌱

🥳 birthday edition!! 🥳

The cherry tomato seedlings are 4 weeks old!

I genuinely didn't think they'd survive, so I'm very happy, as you might be able to tell. There's 9 of them left now, after starting with, well. Many more than that. I know they're still very small for a month old, but mostly I'm happy they're growing at all ❤

They're probably going to move into bigger, individual containers soon! They grow up so quick.

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🌱 seedling update 🌱

🏘 inside crew 🏘

These are the couple of plants that will keep living on my windowsill, and the last batch of babies. The rucola germinated today! I've also spotted 3 licorice plants, so that's exciting ❤ one of the mint cuttings from the supermarket is also growing roots, so I hope that'll keep going well too. I'm going to keep that one in water the whole time, to see how that works out, but so far so good!

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The sunflowers grew a liiitle bit too well. My dad keeps joking he has sunflower-trees. The bees can still find the flowers though so it's all good.

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🌱seedling update 🌱

🌸 outside crew 🌸

I'm splitting these updates up into several parts now!

The outside crew are the tomatoes, thyme, spinach and cucamelons that are going outside permanently at some point soon. I'm still getting them used to being outside now, and the nights are still too cold for them, so for now I'm getting a lot of extra exercise dragging them in and outside every day.

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🌱 final seedling update from the old house 🌱

Everything is growing well! I just did the second cucamelon harvest - this time from two plants - and checked on the plants I'm leaving behind. Don't worry, I'll be back often to check on them and to help my dad out in the garden. Still, I can't believe I grew these from seed! They all got so big!

(Top left: thyme with my hand for scale. Top right and middle: cucamelons. Bottom left: cucamelon harvest. Bottom right: the most massive sunflower.)

Bonus:

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🌱 seedling & plant updates 🌱

There's lots of growth and new developments happening! The sunflowers are losing their seedling leaves (and reaching new heights, making them harder to photograph). The cucamelons needed a moment to settle into their new homes, I think, but they seem to be picking up growth again. The spinach is starting to look more like, well, actual spinach! (The big one in the picture got a bit damaged while repotting - it's not bugs or anything, dw)

I've already claimed some spots in the yard where some of these plants will move to in a couple of weeks, too. I'm giving them another week or so of staying inside before I start hardening them off and getting them (and the soil outside) ready for them to fully move outside.

And the first endive has sprouted today too! The supermarket still owes me more of these seed kits - they unfortunately ran out so with some luck I'll have more seeds going at some point next week.

(1: partial overview. 2: endive & cosmea + the yet un-germinated licorice plants. 3: spinach. 4: cucamelon. 5: sunflower seedling leaves that are no longer necessary. They're growing up!)

Bonus: both my baby monstera deliciosa and raphidophora tetrasperma are slowly growing new leaves! I'd had my suspicions this was happening for a while, but it's nice to see it confirmed!

(L: tetrasperma, R: monstera)

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I think something's happening in my cucamelon container 👀👀👀👀

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🌱 plant & seedling update 🌱

I planted another cucamelon outside, and both of the cosmos seedlings too. I also put the rocket/arugula in a new container though I didn't take any pictures from that.

I also made a (very dodgy and rickety) support for the cucamelon and the whirling butterfly next to it, though I'll probably have to redo it at some point.

Hopefully in a week from now the weather will improve enough that I can also plant a cherry tomato in my little patch. Fingers crossed!

I also repotted my spider plant today. I really thought it was suffering from root rot, but when I took it out it turned out the soil was incredibly dry and it was rootbound instead. I put it in a bigger pot (with inner pot now for drainage) and I'm keeping it near the window for a while so it can hopefully recover and grow a bit more evenly.

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🌱 seedling update 🌱

Some new babies popped up! There's a new cucamelon plant and a new spinach plant! Everyone else is still alive and well. The sunflowers are starting to grow new leaves too, which is a good development! I'm planning to move them out into the garden probably the day after tomorrow, depending on the weather.

I feel like a lot of the others are being weirdly slow though? Hm. I try to pay more attention now to watering, and I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to try except give them more time.

(1&2: sunflowers. 3: cucamelon (new baby bottom right). 4: cherry tomatoes. 5: thyme. 6: spinach)

Bonus: baby sansevieria!

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🌱🍅 tomato seedling update 🍅🌱

They're doing so well! They're really shooting upwards now. I've started marking their progress on the support sticks so I can see how quickly they grow.

I just gave them water with fertilizer for the first time. I was worried for a moment I'd used too much of it, but I think I'm good?? Either way, nothing to be done about it now. We'll see what happens now, I guess!

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Quick plant update!

This cucamelon is now taller than me.

There's a new leaf unfurling on my big monstera deliciosa!

Not a great photo but: the blackbirds and mice have been enjoying my tomatoes.

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🌱seedling update🌱

🌸outside crew🌸

First: one of the cucamelons has been adopted! My sister gave in and took one home last sunday. We visit there semi-regularly so I can keep checking in on it (*if* it survives, which is a big if with my sister)

I've also planted the first one out just now! It looks so tiny now, all alone in the big scary world ;__;

They're also growing something new, which I think might be flowers/fruit?? I will keep an eye out and keep you guys updated.

The outside tomatoes & thyme & spinach are doing similar to indoors. Lots of flowers and new branches and new growth. The outside cherry tomatoes seem to be smaller but bushier than the inside one, which is interesting to see.

The sunflowers haven't been growing much, and I do wonder if they're ok. A lot of them do seem to be growing lots of new leaves but they're not going upwards a lot, and some of them seem a bit sickly. There's not a whole lot I can do about it afaik, other than hope they get better now the weather will hopefully improve a little.

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I checked and apparently next tuesday will be one full month since I started my cherry tomato seedlings, which means it's now 3 weeks since I started the others??

It feels so much longer ago than that wth what is time