One week on - Still alive

Last year I failed miserably at keeping plants alive. I had the idea that I could easily grow edibles from seed or seedling. My experiences showed me that my idea was false.

This year, I want to make that idea true. So I have started anew with a new batch of seeds/seedlings.

I am so determined to keep this bunch alive that I think I am getting paranoid. I have to check the plants at least twice a day. I keep checking if the soil is moist enough. I check every small section to make sure there are no bugs, slugs or other critters wanting to sabotage me. I think about the plants during most of the day at work. If I really think about it, my plants are now my number one thought every day. Unsure how healthy this is mentally, but it seems to be keeping them alive.

My tomato seeds have sprouted.

These little ones are a week old. They already look much healthier than the ones I had last year. Last year I had them indoors without much light so their stems grew way more than they could handle. These ones were outside at half shade with a plastic covering. So far, so good.

I removed the plastic covering yesterday and the little ones seem to be enjoying the sun. It won't be long until I will need to transfer them into separate containers. Hopefully that process won't be the death of them.

My basil seeds are also sprouting.

I honestly did not think anything would sprout from these seeds, mostly because I was unsure if the seeds were ready to be cultivated. Interesting enough, I have found more of these sprouts in my pot where I have my old parsley. Even though I did not plant any seeds in the pot, I am not surprised that the sprouts are there. I had a basil plant in the pot that died, but flowered in its last living months. I guess it left behind some seeds that are now activated from my watering and feeding. Maybe growing basil is not as hard as I thought it would be.

My basil cuttings are still not developing roots. It has only been a week, so it is still early days. If this time next week I still see nothing, then I will accept defeat.

One of the cuttings was losing some of its leaf. I later discovered a small green caterpillar munching on it. Unfortunately I had to execute it. Nothing messes with my plants!  

Below are my garlic after a week of inserting them into the soil.

They are doing extremely well, considering they were left overs from the pantry.

My lettuce is pretty much the same. It has grow a little bit, but nothing too obvious. However I am glad that no snails have managed to munch on them. Sprinkling snail bait around the pots really does work wonders.

Both my chocolate mint and youngberry are doing great. They have both grown a little bit. I am considering transferring the youngberry to a hanging basket, because it seems like the kind of plant that would want to take over everything. It looks quite strong.

My old parsley seems quite sad. It has not grown at all and starting to brown. I think after a year of neglect it got stunted and seems irreversible. Might have to buy more seedlings. Lesson learned though. Do not neglect plants for a whole year. Noted.