Khavanu: seeds

Showing posts with label seeds. Show all posts

April 28, 2011

Garden Fridays: April 29

The seedlings took about 3 weeks to look sturdy enough to mess with (e.g. before I decided to split them into their own containers). So far, so good. We left for Ireland this past week and came back to some very well established and healthy plants. The outside spring garden is thriving and growing. We’re enjoying lettuce (seriously, this lettuce might last until fall), radishes, chard, cilantro, thyme, and mint. Strawberries have set fruit and cauliflower is growing. All that work is paying off in providing some delicious homegrown veggies.

Cukes

Siberian Tomatoes, compact and bushy even as seedlings

All the seeds ready to move on to their new pots

Basil looks happy

After 10 days the newly planted seedlings are looking happy in their new homes and the outside garden has filled out.

Lettuce mix and red cabbage

Cauliflower

broccoli, snow peas, radishes, broccoli and spring onions

The narrow raised bed filling in

New seedlings getting settled:

Plants became Mr. Duds’ lunch

March 28, 2011

Garden Fridays: March 25

Plastic bottle containers for seedlings

Genovese basil sprouts in half a windowbox

Reusing pots (I put the pots in the dishwasher to sanitize them)

I started several summer seedlings in makeshift plastic bottle containers. I cut the bottles (mine were 1.5 L water bottles) in half, placing the cap end down, and used the bottom-half of the bottle as a water holder. So the top-half of the bottle is your pot for the plant, where the narrow bottle top drains off water, and the bottom half of the bottle catches all the water. This does a good job of draining extra water, without having to worry about drowning flats. In these containers, young plants will have roots that come out of the bottom and stay moist from the extra water.

This is a cheap way to start a number of seedlings without having to transplant them into bigger pots. Put a small slit in the lower chamber so the pots can sit on top of each other. I made dozens of these over the winter and had them ready to go as soon as I needed them. I saved old smaller pots and disinfected them. You could use old yogurt containers, dixie cups, eggshell flats, even toilet paper rolls cut in half. I planted 3 seeds per pot in regular potting soil mix. As they get established (and if they grow) I will pinch off or thin out seedlings.

Any ideas on when/what/how to feed seedlings? These guys won't go in to the garden until early June. Do you have other good ideas on starting seedlings? I'd love to hear from you on what works well/ what doesn't. It's pretty obvious that I'm a lazy novice gardener, but I'm trying to learn from my mistakes while also being economical and creative. These are growing on a large window sill which receives late-afternoon southern light.

I totally want this seed packet from the Monticello Kitchen Garden Sampler.

Here are my seedlings:
Red patio bell peppers: 3 pots
Slim jim eggplants: 4 pots
Ida gold tomatoes: 3 pots
Siberian tomatoes: 3 pots
Genovese basil: 1 half of small window box
Coriander: 1 half of small window box

March 11, 2011

Garden Fridays: March 11

It's been a lazy cold few weeks and has not amounted to too many productive garden days, although it has amounted to many successful cooking days. Although my grow-your-own shiitake mushrooms took a beating, I'm happy that the lettuce seedlings held on (the peas...not so much).

This week, I headed to the garden store to pick several bags of soil and compost. It was much easier going with my neighbor (who has a car) than making the trek back and forth on my bike. Belgium will not see that miraculous stint again, but then again, they probably weren't impressed either.

I'm planning on setting out lettuce and snow peas. I picked up broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower seedlings so they'll go out as well. Stay tuned (Turkish pide post coming soon) and wish me luck!