Well, all the seedlings have officially sprouted… And when I say all, I really mean all of them. I currently have 76 plants growing in my bedroom. We’ve completely run out of space under the grow lights and are scrambling for bigger pots to transplant them into. In a desperate attempt to make room, we built a makeshift shelf under the window and started repurposing old containers as pots. I know “crazy cat lady” is a thing, but is there such a thing as a crazy plant lady? Because if so, I think I’ve arrived.
Right now, we’ve got three types of peppers, leeks, tomatoes, butternut squash, basil, and thyme growing. They’re at the stage where they’re starting to get their real leaves—the ones that actually stick around as the plant matures. The first leaves that popped out (the cotyledons) had one job: to create a larger surface area for sunlight and help the real leaves emerge. Plants are so cool.
Now, we wait. Probably another couple of weeks until they’re strong enough to go outside. But before planting, we have to harden them off, which I recently learned is garden-speak for getting plants used to the outdoors. This means gradually exposing them to outside conditions—wind, rain, fluctuating temperatures—by taking them out for an hour or two each day. We might move them to the greenhouse before this stage to help ease the transition, but I have a feeling the nights are still a bit too cold.
For now, I’ll just keep embracing my plant parenthood and hoping I can find space for all these little green babies.