Potatoes, Strawberries, and Seedlings

POST NUMBER TWO FOR TODAY.

Below, in the left box, are some of the Little Gem and Jericho romaine lettuce plants my son and I are growing this season. I planted these varieties for the first time last year, and they were excellent. Easy to grow. Fantastic flavor. Slow to bolt. Five star varieties.

To the right is Bloomsdale Long Standing spinach that my son started. The spinach seemed to appreciate being started outdoors rather than indoors. Germination was much higher outdoors. Go figure. This is the first time I've tried to grow spinach. Just trying to introduce my family to more healthy foods. I'll sneak the spinach into salads. The kids will never know. The husband may be more difficult. :)

Yes, I realize the picture is sideways. :) I didn't realize it until it was downloaded. With this old computer, it's not worth the time to flip it and download it again. Anyway...this is a store bought potato that sprouted in my composter. It appeared so healthy and vigorous that I decided to have a little fun with it. I planted it in this 2-3 gallon container. What could it hurt? Days after planting this potato, I purchased some potato seed at Lowes. Six seed potatoes for Burbank Russet potatoes for less than $4. (I wanted Yukon Gold but they were sold out). Last year was a first for garlic. This will be the year of the potato!

Florian Strawberries- Started from seed purchased at Thompson and Morgan in the beginning of last season. I only got to try two or three berries. The squirrels ate the rest. These have a beautiful pink blossom and small, sweet berries.

Here are my grow lights. Tomatoes are on the top left. Peppers primarily below them. Mostly annuals and perennials are under the right set of lights. These lights were one of my best investments in my garden along with my raised beds.

Here is an up close look at my tomatoes. Primarily heirlooms. There is a Tango celery and Florence fennel plant in the front left of the photo.