It's the most sproutiest time, of the year!

It's been a pretty busy week for me, both personally and in my garden. Being busy makes it hard to write a blog every day but the next few days should allow me the time to catch everyone up.

In the last week, my tomatoes have sprouted and grown large quickly. I was quite surprised by how quickly they have grown from seeds. From seed to sprouting took only 4 days, and while they have been sitting on a heating pad, I was quite surprised.  

BRAND NEW SPROUTS!

The one worry that I have about my tomatoes growing so quickly is that they will get too large too quickly. I don't want them to be too long or leggy as when they get bigger they will grow tall and thin, when I want them to be bushier. I feel in general that they have gotten WAY too much heat which is why they are so big. 

8 days from seeds!

As you can see in the picture they look very tall and thin. While it has been suggested that I throw these all away and start over again, I think I am going to try and see how these work out. When I transplant my seeds I try and bury part of the stem in the soil in order to help the root system become stronger, so that might help to offset the height of these seedlings at such a young age. 

Another batch of seeds!

I also planted another tray of peppers and tomatoes that I am not going to put on heat. I want to see how their growth contrasts with the seedlings that have been under constant heat. Over the next few days I am going to get my growing area in my backyard ready and I am looking at purchasing a pre-built raised bed. Exciting times for my plants!

Silence of the Peppers!

Yesterday, I awoke to a shocking horror. After transplanting my plants and having watched them recover in the life giving plant light they were desolated overnight! All the pots were dug up and the sprouts were eaten! It was a mass McPepperson Pepper Murder!

DEVOURED!

Now my first inclination would be to blame my dogs, however, they were all asleep in our room. My only conclusion is that we must have a pepper eating mouse! Needless to say I was pretty shocked by the large scale pepper homicides and I have purchased traps, set them and surrounded my plants with them in order to catch the culprit. I know it's a little bit eye for an eye and all that but they did eat my peppers. 

In totally non related news, Happy Good Friday to everyone who celebrates Good Friday! If you don't, I hope you have an amazing day relaxing with friends and family. With that being said ,I am off to enjoy my day off with some fantastic friends and tomorrow I will be doing more transplanting and seeding! 

A Frolic Through the Hamilton Farmer's Market

Yesterday I had a little adventure at the Hamilton Food Market. I don't usually get a chance to visit as their hours are a little erratic and a lot of the time they close too early for me to get out to do shopping. However my girlfriend won tickets to the Toronto Food and Drink Show this weekend from The Farm Network, one of the vendors at the market, so we headed down to collect our prize.

While I was hoping to do a bit more browsing once we arrived, a lot of the vendors were closed. We found The Farm Network stall with ease and I have to say that I was more than impressed with their service and selection. They have some amazing and unique products created by small independent artisans and they focus on providing Canadian products. Tyler and his wife were amazingly welcoming and gracious and provided tons of samples. Their daughter was a delightful ball of energy. After spending close to an hour chatting and sampling we left with a sweet haul of goods!

Now that looks awesome!

I ended up taking home a jar of pistachio butter, strawberry maple jam and maple herb salad dressing. I also scored some local Hamilton products buying the Cooksville Dill Hot Sauce and the Cooksville Steak Sauce. While I tried some of them at the store, I popped open all my new purchases to try them again. They all taste amazing and I can't wait to try them all when I cook. (I might have made a PB and J sandwich as soon as I got home with my new butter and jam and it was out of this world!)

LOOK AT THOSE SPROUTS!

In terms of my garden, there are more new developments. Quite a few more seeds have sprouted and so far I have grown at least one pepper from every variety I have planted. Even the Vesuvius and Full Moon Thai Chilis are growing! I also did a little bit more transplanting as some of the sprouts have grown too big for their peat pod. I transplanted 7 seedlings into a seedling grower I am experimenting with. While I am keeping most of my seedlings inside the greenhouse, I am putting 7 seeds into an open air seedling grower. 

My new seed grower!

PLANTED! 

I noticed right away when I planted my new peppers that they instantly wilted and drooped. I have popped them under the lights and watered them so I am hopeful they will perk right up like the last batch of peppers I transplanted. Until next time pepper peeps!

All's Quiet on The Pepper Front!

I woke up this morning and, I can't lie, there wasn't too much to report. There were no new sprouts and the plants stayed pretty much the same size. All is quiet on the pepper front.

Hello world! Nothing new in the greenhouse! With Love. The McPepperson Family!

I figured that today might be a slow day for growing, especially as it was raining all day and not too much sun was peeking out from around the clouds. Thus, when I got home and found the peppers pretty much in the same state as I had left them at 6:30 am, I wasn't too shocked or surprised. 

Same old, Same old!

I am still debating as to when to crack open the greenhouse and let more air in during the day. I think that I am going to wait at least a few more days and hope for more of my seeds to sprout before I crack it open during the day time. 

If anything, I am more worried about the amount of sunlight getting through to my plants throughout the day. It makes me feel I should be investing in some lights to help promote growth. Unfortunately the hydroponics store I was going to stop at in Burlington closed at 6:00 pm today. I guess I will have to wait until the weekend. 

Now, take a look at some of these closeup pepper selfies! 

OOOOOH!!!

AHHHHHHH!!!

The HEIGHT of Pepper Fashion!

What did you say to me???

Alright folks, it's happening. It's a grow off! Old School Rules!

Till tomorrow, may the peppers be with you!

Meet the McPeppersons! The biggest pepper clan in the Hamilton Area!

Naming peppers gives me great joy for some reason. It makes me feel like I am conducting my own Harry Potter sorting hat ceremony, yet with my peppers. I am highly amused and entertained by this. Now on to the naming.

LET US BEGIN THE PEPPER SORTING CEREMONY!

Yesterday we heralded Spicy McPepperson into the world as the reigning pepper overlord. Today we had to name his little brothers and sisters. Since I had a hard time deciding what to name the first born pepper, as the names were so good, I used the hopeful pepper king nominee names to name the rest of the sprouted pepper plants.

The McPepperson Dynasty!

It is with great honour I give to you, the McPepperson Pepper famliy, as of today.

Heppertitis is an Early Jalapeno. Flavourful with a robust medium burn she is wanted at all the hottest parties. No one can say no to Heppertitis!

Purdy Peppa and Groot are both spicy Long Thing Cayenne! Sweet with heat, this spicy little pepper will but some pep in your step! But always remember when you eat this pepper that IT IS GROOT!

Spencer the Sprout is the most direct descendant of Spicy McPepperson as he is an Aleppo Pepper. Fruity yet tangy, he is a delicious taste sensation!

Johnny Peppercorn is a Chinese Five Colour! Perhaps the most colourful pepper grown this year, and I do mean colourful!

Pousse is a Jimmy Nardello Sweet Pepper! A complex sweet yet apple flavour is what we have to look forward to and to be honest, I can't wait. 

Last but not least we have CTB! rounding out the family as a Matchbox Pepper! Fire and fruit all in one! The Matchbox Pepper is a match (heh) for any pepper she faces on the field of pepper battle!

In general I think that the sprouting has gone very well so far and I have had quite a few plants sprout up. While I am still hopeful for many of my seeds, I am happy with what I have as a start so far and I feel that more will come up. I can see a huge difference in the plants from the morning at 6:30 am to when I get back home around 3:00 pm.

They all look a little sleepy still\at 9:30 am!

A little more awake at 3:00 pm!

You can see how the plants have grown in just a short amount of time. I am impressed by how quickly they have been able to grow with just light and water.

A little closeup action!

Till tomorrow, when we may encounter more pepper surprises!