Prepping for the next round of seedlings

I usually reserve my every-other-Friday off for shopping.  Today I hit both Target and Home Depot looking for a few items.  While Target disappointed for gardening supplies, they had some outdoor furniture that looked tempting.  I'm hesitant to start buying such items not knowing whether I'll stay in this apartment long term and decent sized balconies are scarce in Alexandria. 

Home Depot had what I was looking for.  I'll probably end up making another trip for more planters or pots but I wanted to start with the bare minimum.  I purchased a 32-quart package of organic potting soil, two window box style plastic planters, some bamboo stakes which I can cut in half, and some basic gardening tools such as a small rake and a trowel.  The trowels were missing barcode stickers so she asked me how much it was and I told her.  Later when I looked at my receipt, I realized she never rang it up.  Free $4 trowels at the Springfield, VA HD if you get the same girl at the register!

I haven't bought a pair of gardening gloves and cutters.  I just can't see myself paying $10 for a cheap pair of gloves from China or $20 for cutters, also made in China.  Had they looked better quality, I'd consider it.  In the mean time, I can live without both.

All this was precipitated by the fact that the pea plants are choking each other.  Since they have nothing else to grab onto, their little tendrils (tentacles) are lacing around each other.  It took me a while to  untangled them this morning.

Tomorrow's game plan is to get the pea plants into a 24 inch window sill planter.  It may be thin enough to fit on my window ledge, if not, it will go outside on the balcony with the plants covered in soda plastic bottle cloches.   My other goal is to start planting tomato seeds and eggplants.  I'll be trying each in both the plastic cell trays and the soil blocks for a small scientific experiment.

Planning to Plant

Since I've all but abandoned my LiveJournal account, I haven't done much writing outside of the 250 character limit on Facebook.  I am trying a gardening experiment this year and decided to track my progress on a new blog site.  I've never blogged before, so this will be exciting.

I recently moved to Virginia and spent my first winter away from Rhode Island.  I've been surprised at how mild the winter was and the lack of snow this season.  Every major snow storm that hit the West, South and New England missed D.C.  This has set up a warmer than average spring, and I'm hoping the perfect weather for an apartment balcony garden.

I haven't grown vegetables for two summers - my last attempt was in RI.  The summers there are short and very prone to fickle New England weather.  My last veggie garden drowned in too much rain, ending with moldy tomatoes and mushy zucchini.  My friend Justin, who has been blogging about his gardens, was more successful on a third floor deck before moving to a new house.  I'm hoping to have similar success on my second floor balcony in a high-rise apartment in Alexandria, VA. 

My first venture was deciding what to plant.  I read the online catalog at Johnny's Seeds to gain some insight, as well as attending a free seminar hosted by the Northern Virgina's Master Gardener's Association.  Both suggested that almost anything can be planted in a container garden, given the right water, sun and space.  I have space and water.  Sun is still to be determined as the warmer weather arrives.

I decided to purchase a mix of seeds at Lowe's and Johnny's.  From Lowe's I picked up Carnival Peppers (an organic mix of non-green peppers), Sweet Peppers (short & mild), Lettuce, and Straight Cucumber (organic). From Johnny's I got Fairy Tale Eggplant, Orange Blossom Tomato, Valley Girl Tomato (container specialty), Shelling Peas, and Basil disks. 

I also purchased two packages of Jiffy seed soil, a package of planting cells with plastic lids, some liquid fertilizer, small plastic pots from Lowe's and a 2 inch soil blocker from Johnny's.  The last was a splurge item after I saw a demonstration by the Master Gardeners.  I later purchased two grow lights from Walmart, and yes, I hate Walmart, but none of the other stores had the lights.