Seed starting, especially without an actual indoor space is a fraught prospect. Some things do fine. Other things categorically do not. I have seeded out my tomatoes and peppers twice now and have yet to see a single sprout. It is supposed to warm up significantly this week, so hopefully they will decide to be alive.

Some of the things I started earlier in the season have done quite well and are even large enough to be hardened off and transplanted. All of my meadow sage and high mallow plants are large and strong. The alyssum has already been transplanted, the strawflower, some of the painted daisies and rudbeckia are just undergoing their hardening off, the white agastache is *almost* ready.

The flat of herbs I planted 3 months ago has done NOTHING and had to be replanted. My basils I planted last week and are beginning to peek up.

Yesterday, I acquired replacements for my juice/wine type grapevines that died, and my table grapes should be in this week. I have ordered the replacement for the SevenSonFlower tree I killed by groundplanting it too early this spring, and later in the summer, I will replace the passionflower that didnt survive the winter.

It turns out that the ‘schisandra’ I carefully tended all last summer and greenhoused all winter is actually some kind of scrub willow. So there’s that. Yeah. I tended a weed for a year. Awesome.

My Jerusalem Artichoke bed flooded this spring, and between that and the voles, I do not appear to have any Jerusalem artichoke anymore. When I replant, I will mound the bed so the flooding cannot reoccur.

My upland rice is up. So far I have about 50% germination. I hope that improves, but if the 50% make it to maturity, it is still a vast improvement in seed stock.

All 3 pots of Good King Henry I seeded are up, and 4 pots of Caucasian Spinach are over an inch tall and doing well. Both of those are said to be somewhat difficult to grow from seed, so that’s a win. I’ve seeded several ‘difficult’ things this year, so it will be interesting to see what comes up.

Gardening is often a frustrating hobby, but when it actually works, the rewards are high