Questions about a few of my veggie plants...

[mollobe]

Cilantro: How do you pick the cilantro in a way that keeps it growing more? Do I just pluck the leaves off or the whole stem with the leaf?

Bell Peppers: How log after it flowers will the pepper start to grow? If there's only 1 flower will there only be 1 pepper?

Spinach: I only have 1 spinach seedling growing, and I'm not even sure it's spinach. I planted at least 8 seeds in 2 of my square feet, and only this one is growing...does that mean the seeds were dead or do they take longer to grow than other seeds? Should I plant more?

Carrots: My carrot seedlings seem to be doing great - I've thinned them to about 1.5 inches apart. Is that enough? If they're too crowded will that make them just grow skinnier or will it make them stop growing all together?

Thanks!

[Hermana Linda]

Cilantro: How do you pick the cilantro in a way that keeps it growing more? Do I just pluck the leaves off or the whole stem with the leaf?


http://www.tastefulgarden.com/Cilantro.htm
http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/herb/how-to-harvest-cilantro.htm


Bell Peppers: How log after it flowers will the pepper start to grow? If there's only 1 flower will there only be 1 pepper?


Each flower will potentially grow into one pepper. I'm sure that there will be more flowers. :yes


Spinach: I only have 1 spinach seedling growing, and I'm not even sure it's spinach. I planted at least 8 seeds in 2 of my square feet, and only this one is growing...does that mean the seeds were dead or do they take longer to grow than other seeds? Should I plant more?


Spinach seedlings look like http://this. I also got very few considering how many I planted, but I attributed it to my seeds being old. If your seeds were not old, maybe it's the weather. Spinach is not much for hot weather. I think we'd better do more research on this one.


Carrots: My carrot seedlings seem to be doing great - I've thinned them to about 1.5 inches apart. Is that enough? If they're too crowded will that make them just grow skinnier or will it make them stop growing all together?


I have never done carrots, but with radishes, if they don't have enough room, they don't make their ball. I would imagine that they would end up skinnier, but maybe someone else will know more. :)

[Macky]

Cilantro - I've always pinched each stem off at the base if I need just a bit for a recipe. Eventually, it will go to seed no matter how you manage it, though. I tend to grow masses of it and harvest it all at once for drying. I do the same with parsley.

Bell Peppers - Yup, as Linda said: one flower one fruit. As for how soon after... I've had little baby peppers forming with petals still attached. You don't have to wait too long to see something! My pepper plants flower forever and I get annoyed when they're still going in the fall when I'm trying to harvest; pinching out flowers gets old fast when you have a couple dozen plants!

Spinach - If you don't see any more seedlings within a week or so, plant more. As with any seed, it could be that they were old, didn't get enough moisture to germinate or weren't planted at the proper depth. I'll get out my New Seed-Starters Handbook for you for this one... just a sec...

Not the full entry. Just the important stuff.)
"Spinach seeds germinate well in cool soil and the plants prosper in day temperatures of 60 degrees F (16*C) dropping to 40 to 45 degrees F (4 to 7*C) at night. Plant the seeds no more than 1/2 inch deep and thin the seedlings to stand about 6 inches apart in rich soil, 8 inches in leaner soil. spinach is a heavy feeder and needs a well-aerated, well-limed soil. Strongly acid soils often make available substances that are toxic to the plant. If you have trouble with spinach seedlings dying from fungal attack (the fungi like the seed's mucilaginous coating), soak the seeds in a 3:1 chlorine bleach and water solution for ten minutes before planting."

I would suggest pre-sprouting a few seeds in paper towel to see if it's the seed or the planting environment before you go out and buy new.

Carrots - 1.5 inches might be too close for some carrots (say, a chubby nantes type) and perfect for others (a baby variety or long skinny imperator types). Don't go thinning any more, though. Let them grow and if they look like they're crowding too much, thin a few then when you can munch on them! Some people even say that over-crowded carrots help each other push through harder soils, though in my personal experience, they tend to push each other up, not down. If they're still little and you want them all to grow to maturity, you could also just shift every other seedling (carefully lift and replant) to one side a bit - I do that all the time. It would just look like two staggered rows instead of one. I'm experimenting this year with pelleted seeds because I hate thinning so much (big garden).

HTH!

[mollobe]

Thank you so much, ladies! Very helpful information!

[Hermana Linda]

You know we expect to see pics, right? :poke ;)

[mollobe]

You know we expect to see pics, right? :poke ;)


Ooh, okay! Now or when they're actual veggies?

[Hermana Linda]

A photo journal is always fun. :)

I need to update mine soon. :doh