Seedling Update and September Garden Pics

The sad business of thinning.

I hate thinning out my seedlings. I feel like a plant murderess.

Sometimes it can be hard to tell which ones to take - many of my seedlings are the same size. I looked for seedlings that were straight and looked stronger than the others, even if they were similar in height. There was definitely some guesswork involved! Many of my seedlings were getting too big for my Jiffy seed starting kit and they had to be moved into bigger pots and given a bit more space.

Seedling farm, with feline plant-sitter.

One bonus of seedling-murder was that I was then able to make myself a delicious microgreen salad. Baby beets and cabbage are really tasty. I still don't have enough carrots for thinning out, but my tomatoes, cabbage, beets, and catnip were ready to go into pots. One important thing to remember when thinning out seedlings is to simply clip them at the soil line; don't try to pull them out of the dirt. At this point, roots are very delicate and you can destroy your remaining plants that way.


Meanwhile, in our outdoor garden...

Here's what's going on:

We had a guest in the basil...

Our ancho chiles are nice and hot - they're working out great for our salsa and chili now that fall is here.

And a tomato plant we'd thought was dead thanks to our very hot summer is producing new fruit now that the weather's a little cooler.









Next time: We're going to be installing the doors and putting on the finishing touches to the structure. It's already warm and humid in there, even without doors that close. Then, I'll be able to move our seedlings out there, and start building the raised beds.

What's going on in your garden? Please share!

Welcome to Tito's Greenhouse!

So who are we, and why are we blogging?

My name is Leah. I live in Falls Church, Virginia, and I love growing vegetables in my garden.

This fall, my husband and I are putting a greenhouse in our backyard, and we’re going to share the experience with you.

This is pretty advanced gardening for us. Though we’ve had a small vegetable garden for several years now – some herbs and peppers, some tomatoes and a few cucumbers, and a bunch of greens. So, why are we jumping from a 101 level garden to some pretty serious plant-related activity?

Getting started.

• It was my birthday, and my husband said "Do you want a greenhouse?" and I said, "Yes!" It's something we've been thinking about for a while now.
• We eat healthier when we provide some of our own food. 
• We need to eat healthier, big time – we could be in better shape and we're not getting any younger. 
• We’re not survivalists or doomsday preppers, but we know that food is getting more expensive, especially the healthy kind. This year’s drought also means that prices will continue to rise.
• If we can grow great-tasting tomatoes in December, we’ll be over the moon. Plus, my dad will be really, really excited. 
• While it’s better for the environment for us to eat organic greens grown without pesticides, it’s not so great if those greens have to travel thousands of miles to get to us. 
• Maybe we’re just gluttons for punishment. 
• But mostly, gardening makes us happy. It’s deeply satisfying on a spiritual and practical level to nurture living things, and in return, get something from them that nurtures us back. 

Thanks for following us on this journey. We’re planning to walk you through the building and layout of the greenhouse, plus all the growing of lovely, lovely green things. If it all works out, there will be recipes and gardening tips too.

For the curious, Tito is our cat and we named the blog (and the greenhouse) for him. We'll be growing some catnip for him in there along with some tomatoes, carrots, greens, and other goodies. 

Here's Tito, catting around.