The brassicas

So I planted brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage this spring. I know these are fall crops, but I had some year old seeds (broccoli, cabbage) and seeds I collected last summer (brussels sprouts) I was curious to test. And also the wait for last frost can feel so long sometimes, so it's nice to have something to plant out in March. Anyway, so far this is the fruit of my labors:

The head is about an inch in diameter. I guess this is what happens when you don't get the recommended amount of sunlight. On the bright side I've always loved the stalk best and there's plenty of that to go round.

So far the brussels sprouts and cabbage, which have a longer period until maturity, have done nothing, but I'm waiting a bit to pull them out since I can't think of anything to replace them with. This all makes me sad because brussels sprouts and broccoli are some of my favorite veggies.

In other news, here's some baby lettuce and arugula sprouts, at least the shade is good for them.

Planted one week ago.

Indoor plant starting

This year I finally went out and bought a fluorescent light to start seedlings with. It's just the cheapest hardware store model and only has cool bulbs, which isn't ideal but it's what was available. Below is the set-up right now.

On the left is my desk and on the right my bookshelf; the light is wider than the shelf so it's hung over the bottom shelf and then extends under the desk whe it hangs from a hook I added. I turn it on when I wake up in the morning and off an hour or two before I go to bed.

Because the fluorescent light doesn't get hot it doesn't matter if the plants actually touch the bulb, which helps when you have seedlings of wildly different heights. All of the trays and such are left over from former roommates or buying starts at the farmer's market, with whatever potting soil I had on hand. So far it's definitely working better than putting the plants in the window, even though the window I use is south-facing with shelves directly in it for plants.