Text and photographs are © by Ellen Spector Platt & Ellen Zachos, all rights reserved.


Tuesday, May 1, 2012

MY DOWNFALL

In the easy and efficient Burpee Greenhouse Kit I planted seeds of Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) and Moon flower vine, imagining how stunning they would be in my roof garden. Splashes of brilliant orange in 15 containers, huge white flowers unfurling at dusk and climbing up the fences.

Using the little peat pellets included in the kit as my growing medium and adding liquid organic fertilizer at half strength after 2 pairs of real leaves appeared, the seedlings flourished.

Although I had warned gardening clients and friends not to be fooled by our Mid-march summer, I had the nerve, the gall, the chutzpah, to think I would be immune. So I put the tray on the roof, in a 'protected' location to harden off for transplanting. That was one and a half weeks ago. The garden gods punished my hubris, not with frost but 39 degree weather and strong winds.
Now I have this... back inside and trying to survive. Instead of 36 strong and healthy plants, I my be able to salvage five puny ones.
Have I learned my lesson? I'm ashamed to say, probably not.

3 comments:

Sweetgum Thursday said...

Ouch.

Ellen Zachos said...

May we all learn from your mistake!

Karen Chapman said...

I feel your pain! I swear I do the same thing - every year!!


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