I recently watched a short video from Floret Flower Farm where owner and creator Erin Benzakein, made the comment that she has killed thousands of flowers and seedings. Thank God I caught that statement because shortly thereafter I went into our fruit shed/green house and discovered that most of the little seedlings we started died!

It got too hot in the green house, and we’d miss a day of watering. The only survivors were one tray of tomatoes and Andy’s peppers. It was very disheartening but Erin’s acknowledgement that ‘these things happen’ took the sting out of it a wee bit.

With our hoop house completed, I decided to move the whole enterprise out to it. My hope is that because it is an actual greenhouse we might meet with better success. Plus, I can see it from the main house so in sight in mind, so to speak!

I separated the remaining seedlings and took a chance with repotted them in a slightly larger pot. I kept three of each variety and discarded the rest. It’s a gamble I know but I was looking at the space in the hoop house which is where they will be planted and focused on a manageable quantity. Hopefully by having fewer seedlings to tend, I will be more successful at keeping them alive.

Unfortunately, we learned quickly that the hoop house gets even hotter than the fruit shed! To address that, I ordered a shade cloth that will help reduce the heat factor. However, it will arrive in three weeks! So now I’m on constant alert to make sure they don’t dry out. Each morning we roll up the side and open the screen door. This has helped with air flow and takes the temperature down slightly. I’ve also placed the new seedlings on the ground as heat rises. Because of the heat I’m also watering more often. Here too is a risk because now I could fall into the trap of over watering them. I never had this problem in Denver, so I think part of the challenge is learning how to respond to this new environment.

With the tomatoes repotted, I set to work replanting what seeds I had left. I used the planting map I created for the vegetable garden as my guide and started with the flower seeds which are the first rows of the garden. This year and next I will be growing both vegetables and flowers in the Veg patch until our Cutting Garden in completed in 2026. The map helped me focus my efforts. By the end of the day, I had three rows of seedlings started and had used every seed tray I had handy and then a dozen or so smaller single pots.

The last four rows are all vegetables some of which will be directly sown into the ground. If my second round of seedlings goes south, I’m hoping I will at least be successful when it comes to direct sowing!

I must say my confidence in gardening has been shaken a bit. I find myself saying a little prayer each morning to Saint Isidore who is the patron saint to farmers. I’m also trying to channel my grandma Welch when I’m planting. I remember as a child when we visited my grandparents farm, she had the most amazing vegetable garden! I’m confident her method of planting was direct sowing as I have a hard time envisioning her going through all the seedling steps. I also don’t remember ever seeing a green house on the farm. Sooo… fingers crossed I succeed this time.

We still need to install the rest of the drip system for the vegetable garden but won’t start that until we finish prepping the beds. My goal is to have all the beds ready, and the irrigation completed by the beginning of May. Then when we return from the girl’s graduation, we will hit the ground running and plant our vegetable (and flower) garden!

Postscript: My tomato gamble is holding true for the most part, but I have lost a few more. I’ve spoken with a fellow Palisade gardener. Per suggestion, I’m going to do a second planting of the heirloom tomatoes that didn’t make it. She said the growing season runs well into September, even October in Palisade so they should still provide us with a crop!

Seedlings Take Two!

A Breath of Life

Building a Hoop House