Since my wife and I are traveling next Wednesday and will be away for a full week, I'm having to plant vegetable and flower seedlings at a rate of about 150 to 200 per day.
For many years, I've started seeds indoors on a table under lights - most vegetables that people grow, various perennial and annual flowers - all on very planned schedules so that they can graduate out to the cold frame and then into the ground at the appropriate times. I'd guess I started with 1200 seedlings. Since a family emergency arose last week necessitating our sudden departure, I'm having to change plans. Fortunately, the early ones like spinach, peas, the brassicas had already been planted, so there might only have been 900 or so remaining.
It's an insane amount of work in a short time, and it carries the risk of losing a large number of these babies that I've put so much time and effort into nurturing. I have serious doubts about the viability of the basils in our cool (still above freezing!) nights and warm, sunny days. I'll have to set up several sprinklers on timers and pray that there's decent cloud cover for most of that week.
I'm down to about 450 with 6 days to go. I'm hoping to get half of those in today.
Any and all suggestions are welcome.
I've always subscribed to the belief that gardening is an act of hope. This year that will be more true than ever.
