Seedling Update & First Orange

Seedlings sure move fast once they get started!

The beetroot seedlings are looking healthy and growing fast. The top picture is of the remaining cylindrical beetroot seeds, which are basically little dried seed pods.

The transplanted beetroot seedlings are doing fine in their new coconut coir bed.

The Crystal Apple cucumbers are doing well, too. There's a new seedling visible, which seemed to just appear overnight. It's a lovely yellow.

And the original seedling is going strong. You can now see the two leaves inside the seed husk starting to unfold.

The Cherrie Sweetie tomatoes are starting to appear as well. Most are still folded over, like the first picture, but one's leafy and going for it.

Bush basil seeds that I sowed the day before yesterday - they've absorbed water and swollen up, and paled from dark grey. Also, you can see a tiny root sprouting!

I also planted out more seeds at the same time. The Scarlet Runner bean and the Paris Market Carrot just arrived and look pretty amazing. I've hidden the runner beans around the garden, as well as planting them in seed trays.

They've already started sprouting! The runner beans have started to crack open (they're hatching!) and the tiny carrot seeds have little roots.

I also got to harvest the tiny orange from the dwarf Navel orange (I think it's a Best Seedless).

The cat wasn't very impressed.

So I made my own cat, who was wide eyed with citrus-y wonder.

And then I ate it (well, I shared it). It was actually really nice. I left it on the tree for about a week after the last green vanished, and that seems to be about right.

Seedlings Sprouting

My winter seedlings have started sprouting from my windowsill so I wanted to capture the very first to show up.

Stevia in a peat pot. This is quite expensive - I only got five seeds in a pack, compared to 50 or so for tomatoes. It also only lives a couple of years or so, so I'll have to try cuttings and things. If it works, it'll be a fun, useful pot plant, and would make a nice gift if I have spares.

Beetroot - the fastest to come up by far. The seeds were little clusters with multiple seeds, but I've only had two pairs and one single seedling. I haven't planted all the seeds yet, as there were only five (they were a free sample from a seed company, Gardenstuff).

Turns out that you can very gently pull the extra beetroot seedlings out (just don't hold it by the leaves!). There's an awful lot of root in there! I replanted them in another tray, just in case.

Crystal Apple cucumber! I actually thought that I hadn't put the seed in properly at first, before I realised that the plant was pushing it out.

You can't really see the seedling with the naked eye, but a really good close up photo with the flash on shows it really clearly.