Post Hagrid Attack

The count is in.  Twenty tomato seedlings, about 12 of which are really healthy.  The other 8 too early to tell.   One eggplant seedling. Four pepper seedlings (with two looking a little bit whimpy).   Yes, very low on peppers and eggplants.  After two more Hagrid attacks (who knew a cat could contort himself to such a degree that he could put his paw in sideways and keep whapping at the pot until it tumbled over, smothering seedlings in potting soil??) and probably the trauma of transplanting, my peppers and eggplants did not prove to be robust enough to survive.   Looks like I will need to rely on the nursery to round out this year’s eggplant needs.  If all my peppers survive, then all will be well in pepper land and no nursery seedlings will be required.

(You can see the photos of the more recent Hagrid attack, complete with soil spread about on the floor.  Then a photo of Hagrid in the cage while I transplanted seedlings, and him in action trying to paw and knock over my watering container.  Finally, the photo of the anti-Hagrid reinforcements designed to prevent his paw from breaching the perimeter.)

My cold frame crop is doing BEAUTIFULLY, just beautifully.  All my herbs are growing strong.  My strawberries are growing green leaves. My lettuce is doing wonderfully, both the nursery transplants and all the seeds that I planted.  (I ended up needing to plant some more nursery transplants to replace those that were off’d by the last squirrel attack.)  I planted arugula and pot of of gold container swiss chard today in various pots and put them in the cold frame.  I also planted lettuce, bright lights swiss chard and mustard greens in containers and put them on the front porch.  The chard and mustard greens are in a recycled frozen lasagna trays while the lettuce is in one of those big under the bed plastic storage box. I totally love my cold frame.  Happy to report that the anti-squirrel perimeter barriers are holding up nicely.  (In addition to stapling plastic mesh where I had gaps, I am using the logs chopped up from the huge branch that fell from the last storm to hold down the plastic door and seal off the entrance.)

I planted some basil and stuck the little pots in the kitchen window sill.    So, all in all, I am content on the seed front.  Next weekend is the big yard clean up as we edge ever so closer to that ever magical “last frost date.”  Although given the very unpredictable weather patterns these days, that date may be ever more elusive.

Click on “Pea Pods” to see more photos of the cold frame, indoor greenhouse set up and Hagrid.