Seedlings

seedlings, originally uploaded by jahansell.

I'm not having much luck in the seed-starting department. I started a bunch in March in the basement under shop lights, as I have every year for at least a dozen years. Nothing has changed about my setup, the temperature or anything else - but nothing grew. I suspected mice, so when the weather got a little warmer, I started over, on the screen porch (it's got storm windows so I figured even tender plants like zinnias would be fine as long as the temp didn't drop into the 20's. Kind of like a cold frame.)

I'd mostly given up on things that needed to be started very early, and bought tomatoes and peppers from Paley's. (I'm sure I'll buy more from Sol Flower at the Millerton Farmer's Market, too!)

But yesterday I went to look at this tray and saw that bunches of the sprouts had been decapitated. No mouse droppings, so I'm not sure who's the culprit. The cat? (But she didn't eat the seedling, just slice it off and leave the leaves sitting on the dirt.) Very frustrating!