I see green!! Never thought I would be so excited to see little green stems sticking through dirt, but hey, here we are. At this point of my learning project, I feel somewhat successful as my little seeds have grown into the beginning stages of plants.
This week, I have treated my little garden like a pet. I ensured the dirt is moist enough and if it seems dry, I add water. The weather has been warm and cold this past week so if there is chance of freezing overnight, I bring my garden inside the house to stay warm in the night and put the garden back outside during the day for sunshine. Fortunately, I set my garden boxes on the covered deck where they receive some sunlight throughout the day but are also protected from the wind, which I have been told by my mother that this helps the growing process.
I have taken some time to learn more about vegetable gardens and what goes on under the dirt. I found this picture, which is a great visual of the plant growth stages, which helps me understand what stage my lettuce and radishes are at in their growing process.
Picture from: https://www.saferbrand.com/articles/plant-growth-stages
Update on radishes: Based on the growth stages image above, currently, my radishes are at the well into the seedling stage. This means that the roots of the plant are developing and spreading through the dirt. These roots require lots of nutrients to continue to grow and reproduce. I find it interesting that a few of the plants have popped through the dirt but most of the plants have not came through the dirt yet. Any radish planters out there know if this is normal?
I also found an article about radishes and it suggests that radishes LOVE sun. So, I will be ensuring that my radishes receive lots of sunlight this next week to help them grow from the seedling stage to the vegetative stage.
Update on lettuce: Based on the growth stages image above, currently, my lettuce is at the beginning of the seedlings stage. This means that the roots of the plant are developing and spreading through the dirt. However, I think the first stage called the sprout stage for lettuce takes more time than the radishes as my lettuce has hardly popped through the dirt. You may need to put your binoculars on to see the little seedlings!
I was a bit worried this week about my lettuce and the growing progress thus far. I was searching for articles about growing and maintaining a lettuce garden. I came across this article about lettuce, which provided some great information about the temperature and environment lettuce grows best in. It suggests the best germination weather for lettuce is between 16-18 degrees celsius (which is perfect for the weather we have currently been having).
My goals for next week:
>Try to grow indoor sprouts
>Research about plants and sunlight
>Keep my little radishes and lettuce alive