Pea trellises and seedlings

On Sunday, March 22, I bought the supplies and built these pea trellises. Lowe's didn't have the right width of plastic mesh to go up high enough. I bought the mesh that was 2' wide to go around the bottom of the trellises. I figured I'd go back and buy a second roll to add to the top once the peas start growing. The package says the peas take 7-14 days to germinate. Today is day 9. Two seeds have popped out of the soil, but I'm wondering if they were just flooded out by rain we had a couple of nights ago. See how green the grass is? Which reminds me...I need to put down newspapers and mulch in my walkways before the weeds take over.

I also started a flat of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and onion seeds a couple of weeks ago. I had them in my laundry room (the warmest room in the house) under the florescent lights. However, I think my lights are too far overhead and my seedlings became tall and leggy as a result of light starvation. Yesterday I repotted them into larger (4") peat pots. I planted them deeper in the soil and went out today and bought a florescent light to install under my kitchen cabinets. Now the repotted seedlings can sit on my kitchen counter under the lights for about 14 hours a day until they're ready to go outside. They already look happier, see?


Unfortunately, I lost several seedlings that didn't make it. I originally started 18 each of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and onions. I only transplanted the healthiest looking seedlings for a total of 3 cabbage, 3 broccoli, 3 cauliflower, and 9 onions. Also, I have my doubts that the broccoli seedlings will pull out of their slumped over lankiness. Everything else looks good though.

My next plan is to plant some more seeds, specifically tomatoes and peppers. I already have several varieties of each that I'd bought. Today I got online and ordered more: Cherokee Purples, Brandywines, sweet corn, and pole beans. I also ordered 3 types of basil, dill, and catnip. I don't plan to have an inch of unused space in this year's garden.