Playing Ketchup

We transferred the tomatoes on Thursday--all 63 of them. Here are the numbers:

Nyagous: 20 out of 24 (83%)
Isis Candy: 16 out of 24 (67%)
Amish Paste: 15 out of 24 (63%)
Furry Yellow Hawg: 7 out of 12 (58%)
Snowball: 5 out of 6 (83%)

TOTAL: 63 out of 90 (70%)

These are numbers of actual, viable transplants. We had even higher germination rates if you count the discarded stragglers. We’ve allocated space for 30 tomatoes, so we’re ready to start taking orders from our adoring public. We’re predicting a similar surplus for eggplants and okra.

Last night we applied some more liquid kelp to both our indoor and outdoor plants. We gave the plants their first feeding some time in late March. It’s difficult to gauge the impact of the kelp since we aren’t really doing an experiment with a control group or anything like that. The plants certainly haven’t been hurt by the feeding, though. We also sprayed Nico with some kelp. The results are mixed.

In varmint news, we’ve encountered the most cunning perpetrator to date. His name is Leroy and he’s a bushy-tailed, hyperactive cat. He couldn’t care less about the plants but seems to love nesting atop the row covers over our broccoli. We know this because Mark actually witnessed Leroy in (in)action. This explains our discovery of mysterious holes and tears in the row covers earlier in the week. We’re a little stymied by this behavior but there’s no way we’re letting that little runt outsmart us and our opposable thumbs. Next time Leroy gets “The Hose.

After hardening off in the garage for a week, the onions went into the ground on Saturday. The cipollinis took up so little room that we direct seeded all the extra ones we had, and a couple of rows of the Spanish ones as well. It’s almost time to transplant the leeks as well. The direct-seeded lettuce has started to emerge in little patchwork clusters. Our 2-week-old spinach transplants seem to be doing all right in the garden, but there is no sign yet of their direct-sown companions.