It only comes once a year. It’s not a holiday and it’s not tax time. It’s Super Sow Sunday! A “live” seed planting and Tweeting event bringing gardeners from all over together. United by our *avid* interest in seeds and gardening as well as a general dislike for football, Super Sow Sunday is our chance to share, laugh and get a jump on the growing season. This is the first year for this brand new tradition!
February is my month for starting pepper, tomato and eggplant seeds. The germination tends to be longer for these tropical crops and heirloom plants’ germination can be even a bit longer than that! By sowing now and allowing the plants to grow under lights indoors, the seedlings will be large enough for planting out in May.
When starting your seeds indoors keep these tips in mind to prevent the plants from getting “leggy”:
- Light is important. Set the seedlings under lights ASAP after they poke up through the soil. Set the lights as close as possible to the tray/pots.
- Temperature matters. The warm, toasty temperatures needed for germination aren’t necessary for growing. Plants “grown cold” grow slower and are stockier. Temperatures around 55-60 are o.k.
- If tomato plants begin to get leggy, pinch them back to promote new side growth.
I want to thank all of my Twitter friends that joined in the fun, and all of those who participated that I have yet to Tweet! If you’re on Twitter be sure to look for these garden gurus. We’d love to have you join us in the fun! (…and don’t forget to mark your calendar for next year’s for Super Sow Sunday!!)
- @BG_Garden
- @betweenthelimes
- @OurLittleAcre
- @Garden_Therapy
- @gardenmom29
- @TWOwomenANDaHOE
- @myskinnygarden
- @bintie
- @GreenSoil
- @C_Vanderlinden
- @RootsandFlowers
- @PAllenSmith
- @GrossmansGarden
Thanks for hosting this fabulous event! Mark your calendars for next year!
I can honestly say that this event saved me from procrastination today. I would SO have put this off another couple of weeks! It was a lot of fun – thanks for that.
I actually spent more time cleaning my basement and setting up the shop lights on my new shelving unit than I did planting. Still, I planted a couple of different onions, some lettuce and even repotted my orchid.
Thanks for the shout-out, Lisa! Was this your idea? Great job! It was fun, even if I did only plant one thing and ended up watching the game anyway. I can multi-task on occasion! LOL
I had fun, too! Such lovely garden friends to spend a Sunday with! I’m looking forward to doing it again!
I’m glad everyone had fun! I’m thinking I should move my growing station to the basement…it could use a good tidying!
I thought it was great fun and a wonderful idea as well! However, I can’t take credit for it entirely. I happened to Tweet that instead of Super Bowl Sunday I was planning Super Sow Sunday for starting my seeds. Carri (@betweenthelimes) tweeted back she was planning the same and others joined in from there. Add a hash tag and VOILA! Fun for everyone! (I did end up watching about 5 minutes of the game until “Emma” came on PBS!)
I had fun too! And I got some seeds planted that otherwise would have gone unplanted for who knows how long!
Thanks everyone.
Isn’t it great to encourage one another? It was fun… and now I’m excited to see how it all grows!
Lisa I wish I could have participated in Super Sow Sunday with you all. It sounded like so much fun on twitter. But it is much too early for me to start anything, even tomatoes and peppers. besides, my seeds haven’t even arrived yet.
GREAT NEWS!! We want to do it again at the the end of March/beginning of April so EVERYONE can participate. It’s a great way to share advice, have some fun and encourage others as they grow! Watch for it…