Busy Day in the Grow Room

Aren't these the cutest little Geranium starts?  They've even grown a little since this photo.  I transplanted 44 of them into 3" pots today.

These are Starfire Marigolds.

The Livingstone Daisies have come up.

Dahlia Delights.  There is two flats growing and I planted another two flats of seeds today.

Things are getting going in the grow room.  I've spent a good part of the day planting and transplanting.  I think I forgot how much work this really is. I'm still way behind in getting some things started, but when it becomes "work" instead of "fun" it's time to take a break.  I'll be back at it tomorrow.

Failure Leads to Future Successes

Seeds do not pause their progress when my life gets over-whelming.  I am over my eyeballs in work to do and really just have a headache, but the gardening must go on....

I am not as pleased with the baggie method as I thought I was.  The germination rate is poor, some barely develop and some take off so fast you can't get their roots out of the paper towel and they end up damaged.  These are Dwarf Unwin Dahlia's and I'm sure I did better last year when they were put straight to dirt. I did four bags last night:

transplanted 20 for a 62% germination rate in 5 days at 74*
transplanted   7 for a 21% germination rate in 5 days at 74*
transplanted   9 for a 25% germination rate in 5 days at 74*
transplanted 10 for a 31% germination rate in 5 days at 74*

The others may have germinated with more time, but I chose to toss them.

The Roma Tomatoes germinated fine, but the roots are too far into the paper towel.  Maybe if I would have been able to get them planted as soon as a root sprouted, but LIFE wouldn't allow it.  There are a lot of steps involved in this method and I think (with my many children and pets) I would be better off starting in soil.  I can later consolidate the successes into one tray as I have time.  This method requires constant monitoring. I transplanted 30 and tossed the rest (53). 

I have many more baggies like this.  Today, I'll decide what is worth taking the time to transplant and what is a waste of precious time.  Sometimes picking up ten more dollars of seed is the best option in the long run.