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Growing seedlings in the back porch

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We have an unheated enclosed porch at the back of our house and I use this area to start seeds in March and early April. Well, to be completely honest, some seeds get started indoors in late February or early March and then as the weather begins to warm by the end of March and early April I often end up with most of my seedlings in the back porch area where I have one of those small three shelved plastic covered green houses.

The room is on the South side of the house and it gets a lot of sunlight through the windows and uhm corrugated green plastic ceiling (how classy!) from early morning to mid-afternoon or so. In the summer we can’t go in this room unless the window is open as it just gets too hot. In the winter the back porch is reasonably comfortable in the day time even in January or February. So This is a good place to grow plants for the garden.

I am thinking of getting some blinds for the windows in the back porch because I think they might help deflect a little bit of the sunlight and consequently the heat that builds up in the room. of course, there’s that corrugated green plastic roof that covers the back porch. It lets a lot of light in as well. Oh and the cold of winter, and heat of summer.

The back porch has wood paneling- dark wood paneling and I’ve been thinking of white washing the wood so the room will be bright. I wouldn’t actually use white on the walls though but a very pale green/white wash. So I’m trying to decide if I should get natural wood or bamboo blinds or the regular metallic kind. I guess I have a few months to think about this because I’m certainly not going to be doing anything else out there this year.

Where do you grow your seedlings? Do you start them indoors under grow lights?






Coral Bells

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Heuchera micrantha commonly known as Palace Purple

This is a seed-grown strain, rather than clonal cuttings, so the plants vary wildly. Growing them in light shade seems to protect the foliage from burn, and on some of the superior forms, the flowers make a light, airy effect that is highly appealing.

Palace Purple does not seem as prone to develop woody stems that need to be divided as frequently as some of the other heuchera types, although this varies widely by plant.

This lovely, often purple foliaged plant grows to 12-18 in.. When planting space 24-36 in. Coral Bells are quite hardy, and should thrive in USDA zone 3a – 8b. Coral Bells prefer to be in a shady to partial sunny spot. The blooms that spring up on tall stalks are white or off white.

Coral Bells bloom from late spring to mid Fall, and blooms repeatedly. The folliage is deciduous and should not be covered with mulch in the winter or it may rot. Heuchera has average water needs and should not be over watered.

Propagation can be achived by collecting the seeds from the dried blooms. Sow the seeds indoors before the last frost and plant out in the early spring after the last frost has passed.

Glorious Annuals

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Annuals are usually grown to provide color. Since they are only temporary plants in many gardens – if they are always treated as such, they tend to thrive anywhere. Annuals permit gardeners in cold areas to briefly ignore the prospect of inter bleakness and inject a touch of tropical summer color into their gardens.

Annuals are subject to all the normal climatic considerations – wind, salt spray, and summer heat – but they are remarkably resilient plants that carry on flowering under most conditions, except severe cold.

Tender annuals must be planted in spring, after the last frosts, with a view to summer and autumn flowering. However, the so called hardy annuals are often planted in the autumn and left to over-winter for spring flowering. Pansies, Sweet William and Iceland poppies are among the best known hardy annuals. It’s true that the majority of my Pansies (provided they survive the heat of summer), Sweet William (pinks, dianthus) and Iceland poppies often do survive our Canadian zone 6B/ USD zone 5B winters.

With careful planning- depending upon your zone of course, it’s possible to have blooms almost all year round. I tend to have blooms outdoors in my garden from perennials, annuals, bulbs and rhizomes from Mid-March well into November; and indoors my plants such as Thanks Giving and Christmas Cactus, Jasmine and amaryllis give me blooms inside through November to March.

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