Windowsill: The Next Generation

The gradually-emerging mint and not-at-all-emerging rudbeckia have been moved out from under the plastic.  Ridiculously, I want my gardening to be instant-gratification.  The rudbeckia aren't being cooperative, so out they come.  The mint is too slow. 
In their sunny, warm place go 6 pots of scarlet runner beans, 3 pots of string beans, and 9 pots of nasturtiums.  We know at the plot that we can grow beans in the ground from seed no problem, so they are not so much of a worry, but I would love to put fast-growing things into the yard without too much of a pause between start and reward.  People walk on them, otherwise.  

The double-narcissus is just from a pot at the grocery store.  All the other blooms are pretty much over, but this one (these two?) is (are?) flourishing.

I should be more patient about the planting.  I should also be a bit more cautious about when I start things.  The peas are really coming along and they may be potbound before the ground can take them. 

Carnage

The beets, after Chutney had her way with them.  I didn't notice at first that she loosed her venom on the peas, too.  

Now, I know that she can't possibly be aware that these are my favourite veggies.  Still, it feels like a personal attack.  This could be because I now get up in the morning and check the flats before I fill her food dish.  She may be wishing that I throw her a ball instead of admiring the flats before heading out to work.  

The chives and marigolds are still fine.  They've been sitting on one of her favourite looking-out windowsills for a while now.  The peas in the flats as yet un-potted-on are in quite dire straits.  It's well past time for them to be moved into bigger containers, but I still haven't had a chance to get soil.  Maybe this evening.  

The pea on the right (in focus) has a root showing.

See it?

The mint and rudbeckia stolidly refuse to do anything.  If they're not up by this weekend, they lose their under-plastic status, I am afraid.  I've got plans.  

Indoor seed starting

We made a trip to the seed store on Saturday (March 22) and came home with a bag filled with hope and promise.  

Zucchini, leeks, cucumbers, string beans, scarlet runner beans, peas, beets and spring onions.

Chives, basil, and mint.

Marigolds, nasturtiums, and rudbeckia.

Cress as an experiment to make sprouts.

Flat of "recycled" and "peat-free" small seed starting pots, complete with clear plastic cover (5 sets of ten pots).  Flat of same stuff larger pots (6 sets of 3 pots).  

From Canadian Tire, I splurged and got the Miracle Gro seed germinating soil to fill them with.

On Sunday, I put peas into the first set of 10, beets into the second, marigolds into the third and fourth (can never have too many marigolds, right?) and rudbeckia into the fifth.   Then I checked it 10 minutes later to see if anything had sprouted.  And ten minutes after that.  And about half an hour after that.  It turns out that I don't have a lot of patience, actually.

I also put some chives into a small indoor pot for the kitchen window, and some cress into a jar in the broom closet for (hopefully) sprouts.