Repotting Tomato Seedlings

My tomato seedlings go through a series of repottings before they get planted in the garden. My goal is to have small sturdy healthy tomato plants by the time it’s warm enough to plant them outside.

Tomato seedlings seems to thrive on being repotted (unlike other plants), so I repot mine several times during the growing season. Each time I pot them I cut off the bottom 2 branches and bury those under the soil level. This way when it’s time to plant them I have a short tomato plant with a large root ball. If you look at a tomato seedling closely you’ll see lots of little hairs along it’s stem. Each of these will become a root if they come in contact with the soil.

Yesterday was a very productive day here at Chiot’s Run, I was able to repot about 70% of my tomato seedlings (since I currently have over 200 seedlings, that’s a lot of repotting).

I always like to do my repotting on a cloudy day, it seems to be much easier on the plants. Yesterday was perfect for repotting.

I always make sure I label each tomato pot when I repot it. I used to try to keep them organized in rows and only label the first one, but too many times I’ve had to wait until fruiting to know exactly what kind of tomato it was.

I just love the look of all the little plants. These plants signify a lot of delicious homegrown goodness!

Do you have a specific technique for repotting tomatoes or other seedlings?

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Playing Hooky

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Ohio, in the low 70’s and sunny. It was the perfect day to spend all day in the garden, so what did I do?

I played hooky. Mr Chiot’s and I went motoring in our MINI. We did do something garden related though, we stopped at the local greenhouse and bought some blueberry plants to put in our front flower bed. As much as I love to garden, there are days when it’s nice to just leave the gloves at home and play hooky.

Do you ever have those days when you “should” be working in the garden but you choose to do something more fun instead?

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Spring Flowers

The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size.

~Gertrude S. Wister

Forsythia hedge at Stan Hywet in Akron, OH (4.17.09)

Yellow tulip in front flowerbed (4.18.09)

Star Magnolia at Stan Hywet in Akron, OH (4.17.09)

Narcissus in front flowerbed (4.18.09)

There’s just something so special about things that bloom this time of year. I think it’s because they’re the first colorful things after the long white winters here in Ohio. If I had to pick a favorite spring flower I think it would be the tulip, there’s just something about them that’s so cheery. I really love that they come in all colors, shapes and sizes!

What’s your favorite spring flower?

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Lovin’ Life at Chiot’s Run

Lucy is lovin’ life right now. She’s finally doing well enough that we don’t have to watch her like a hawk every minute of the day. (if you weren’t around when she got injured read this and this).

We’re having beautiful weather here in Ohio at the moment (mid 60’s and sunny). Lucy is really enjoying it because we’ve been chaining her to a tree in the yard. She’s still not able to run free as she used to, but she’s enjoying laying in the grass basking in the sun. The garden’s namesake can finally enjoy the gardens again.

She’s still doing therapy, which consists of many short walks around the yard increasing in distance every few days. But the nice weather makes these therapy sessions much more enjoyable both for her and us.

I’m enjoying this weather as well, the sun on my back, my fingers not being numb while working outside; I could get used to this.

What about you, are you having perfect gardening or basking in the sun weather?

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Breakfast of Champions

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, at least that’s what they say. I must admit, I do love a good breakfast. We don’t do the usual cereal and milk like most people, we like a heartier breakfast of oatmeal & nuts. Since Nourishing Gourmet was having a breakfast carnival today, I thought I’d join and share what a typical breakfast at Chiot’s Run is like.

We don’t eat the normal oat flakes, we prefer oat groats, which are whole oat berries. I soak them overnight with a bit of apple cider vinegar to soften them up, then I cook them the next morning. Usually I cook up a big batch on Sunday night and we warm up enough for breakfast each morning, this makes for a quick healthy hearty breakfast each day.

We like to top our oatmeal with various toppings each morning including: crystalized ginger, pecans, walnuts, ground flax seeds, raisins, cranberries, dried pears, and cinnamon.

We finish it off with a drizzle of maple syrup and then we enjoy our healthy breakfast. Hopefully I can find a source for local oats and then our morning meals will be local. (I am planting a few raisin grape vines to make our own raisins and I’m trying to grow some ginger of my own).

What’s your breakfast of champions?

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