I am DELIGHTED with the results I have gotten from pre-sprouting seeds on wet paper towels in ziplock bags. The okra seeds were sprouted in about 2 days. Dilara and bagged up a lot last Wednesday after church and I can hardly keep up with them. In fact, my "colorful beet mix" seeds may be no good for beet roots--the colorful roots were VERY long. They didn't sprout right away, though. Definitely, you need to check them daily.
My "warm spot" is the oven with the door open and the light on. I have a heat mat somewhere, but my oven light switch is broken and I pretty much keep it on all the time till it burns out. Makes a nice spot to dry vegetables, keep opened bags of chips crisp, make yogurt, etc. I am afraid it will be too warm if I close the oven door. It is a wall oven, so nobody is going to trip over it. I don't know how much I would need to keep it propped open to keep it from getting too hot.
I wonder if the seeds get used to the heat and don't do well if you put them straight into the cold ground. I guess "hardening them off" may be good, but of course, you want to plant them somewhere as soon as possible because the roots can get tangled in the paper towel. I try to space them out so I can cut around them and plant them along with their little piece of paper towel.
I planted the Calliope Mix carrots in the back of a discarded toilet tank I found on the side of the road. I planted rather thickly. I will probably grow carrots every 2-3 weeks and put them in buckets. I have a steady supply of squarish kittly litter buckets.
My potatoes are planted in burlap sacks, rolled down. I planted what I had last year. I will try to be very diligent about topping them up with leaves/soil/compost. I didn't do so well with that last year.
Note to self---don't try to grow cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or brussels sprouts from seed. I have got nothing but "seed leaves" from the cabbage and cauliflower I started last month in coir. The plants I got from Wal-Mart are very nice. I just got spinach, cabbage, and brussels sprouts.
My San Marzano tomato seedlings are doing great. I have several. I sprouted them on cotton balls and planted them in small pots, then potted them up in bigger pots, burying the stem well. Yesterday I potted up Principe Borghese (9!), 2 beefsteak, one yellow pear and one pear tomato. Those were all from seeds I have sprouted on paper towels in the past week. I really don't think I'll to paper towels again...cotton balls are easier and I guess they are better for tomato plants. I think the paper napkins are better for the things you plant a lot of. Like carrots and radishes and onions. And the big seeds like okra and beans.
It is important to bury seedings up to the true leaves. I have planted lettuce in the pots the lilies are in. I sure hope they didn't get hurt by cold weather. They are really too big for me to take in, but I dragged them to the side of the house behind a bush and I covered them with a comforter when it got really cold...except for the other day when it hit 32 degrees. 2 are above ground.
I did not keep good records yesterday. I put a lot of things into an earthbox and i have already forgotten what. I planted the sprouted beets. Oh, maybe the other section was onions. and I planted the dinosaur kale and broccoli rabe. I was not happy with how they were growing...very leggy. I planted them deeply in hope that they will do better outside.
I worry about the birds getting my seedlings. I covered the corn and what I planted yesterday with row covers, but they blew off. I will cover again and anchor the "protection" down better.
I guess I should be planting radish seeds weekly. Dilara likes them.
I was going to dump out my topsy turvy strawberry planter, but I just cut off dead leaves and took out what looked like dead plants. I need to top it off with a lot of good compost and I think I will be using fish emulsion.
I bought my first bottle of fish emulsion fertilizer this spring. Have heard such good things about it.
I also mixed some oatmeal, blackstrap molasses, and mycorrhizal innoculant with some worm castings, put them in a plastic bag--open, and put it in a small cardboard box and put it in my "warm place" (oven). So, 3 days it is supposed to have made a fungal web. Then, I guess I mix it with compost or something...it is supposed to be good to use in compost tea. www.compostjunkie.com
I need to clean out my refrigerator today. I know I'll have plenty of "worm food." I still have my worm compost from my blue trash can dumped out in the front yard, on a dog food bag "tarp" and covered with a piece of carpeting. I wanted to do something fancy with the trash can, but I guess I'll go ahead and get it started again today. the worm compost left isn't as "finished" as I would like, and I need to harvest some worms to share with Kathy.
Mammoth sunflower plants are doing well (sprouted really fast in paper towels!) as are the okra. I thought my basil seeds had lost viability because some didn't sprout, but some from another packet sure did!! I guess I can put the basil in the community garden when it warms up. I really need to insulate this dog kennel so I can put my heat loving plants (peppers, tomatoes, okra, basil) out there. I am running out of room in the house. I wonder where I put all that bubble wrap? I should be able to make some makeshift cloches out of it. I wonder how to keep it from blowing away, though.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/use-bubble-wrap-garden-22104.html
I have not labeled things like I should and I think I have lost track of some things. Already.
I will want to buy more lath and screws to make the sfg grid. I want to build a vertical trellis, too. I LOVE the cattle panel arches. Cost about $25 after tax at TSC. 16' by 4'2"
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2879/
My "warm spot" is the oven with the door open and the light on. I have a heat mat somewhere, but my oven light switch is broken and I pretty much keep it on all the time till it burns out. Makes a nice spot to dry vegetables, keep opened bags of chips crisp, make yogurt, etc. I am afraid it will be too warm if I close the oven door. It is a wall oven, so nobody is going to trip over it. I don't know how much I would need to keep it propped open to keep it from getting too hot.
I wonder if the seeds get used to the heat and don't do well if you put them straight into the cold ground. I guess "hardening them off" may be good, but of course, you want to plant them somewhere as soon as possible because the roots can get tangled in the paper towel. I try to space them out so I can cut around them and plant them along with their little piece of paper towel.
I planted the Calliope Mix carrots in the back of a discarded toilet tank I found on the side of the road. I planted rather thickly. I will probably grow carrots every 2-3 weeks and put them in buckets. I have a steady supply of squarish kittly litter buckets.
My potatoes are planted in burlap sacks, rolled down. I planted what I had last year. I will try to be very diligent about topping them up with leaves/soil/compost. I didn't do so well with that last year.
Note to self---don't try to grow cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or brussels sprouts from seed. I have got nothing but "seed leaves" from the cabbage and cauliflower I started last month in coir. The plants I got from Wal-Mart are very nice. I just got spinach, cabbage, and brussels sprouts.
My San Marzano tomato seedlings are doing great. I have several. I sprouted them on cotton balls and planted them in small pots, then potted them up in bigger pots, burying the stem well. Yesterday I potted up Principe Borghese (9!), 2 beefsteak, one yellow pear and one pear tomato. Those were all from seeds I have sprouted on paper towels in the past week. I really don't think I'll to paper towels again...cotton balls are easier and I guess they are better for tomato plants. I think the paper napkins are better for the things you plant a lot of. Like carrots and radishes and onions. And the big seeds like okra and beans.
It is important to bury seedings up to the true leaves. I have planted lettuce in the pots the lilies are in. I sure hope they didn't get hurt by cold weather. They are really too big for me to take in, but I dragged them to the side of the house behind a bush and I covered them with a comforter when it got really cold...except for the other day when it hit 32 degrees. 2 are above ground.
I did not keep good records yesterday. I put a lot of things into an earthbox and i have already forgotten what. I planted the sprouted beets. Oh, maybe the other section was onions. and I planted the dinosaur kale and broccoli rabe. I was not happy with how they were growing...very leggy. I planted them deeply in hope that they will do better outside.
I worry about the birds getting my seedlings. I covered the corn and what I planted yesterday with row covers, but they blew off. I will cover again and anchor the "protection" down better.
I guess I should be planting radish seeds weekly. Dilara likes them.
I was going to dump out my topsy turvy strawberry planter, but I just cut off dead leaves and took out what looked like dead plants. I need to top it off with a lot of good compost and I think I will be using fish emulsion.
I bought my first bottle of fish emulsion fertilizer this spring. Have heard such good things about it.
I also mixed some oatmeal, blackstrap molasses, and mycorrhizal innoculant with some worm castings, put them in a plastic bag--open, and put it in a small cardboard box and put it in my "warm place" (oven). So, 3 days it is supposed to have made a fungal web. Then, I guess I mix it with compost or something...it is supposed to be good to use in compost tea. www.compostjunkie.com
I need to clean out my refrigerator today. I know I'll have plenty of "worm food." I still have my worm compost from my blue trash can dumped out in the front yard, on a dog food bag "tarp" and covered with a piece of carpeting. I wanted to do something fancy with the trash can, but I guess I'll go ahead and get it started again today. the worm compost left isn't as "finished" as I would like, and I need to harvest some worms to share with Kathy.
Mammoth sunflower plants are doing well (sprouted really fast in paper towels!) as are the okra. I thought my basil seeds had lost viability because some didn't sprout, but some from another packet sure did!! I guess I can put the basil in the community garden when it warms up. I really need to insulate this dog kennel so I can put my heat loving plants (peppers, tomatoes, okra, basil) out there. I am running out of room in the house. I wonder where I put all that bubble wrap? I should be able to make some makeshift cloches out of it. I wonder how to keep it from blowing away, though.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/use-bubble-wrap-garden-22104.html
I have not labeled things like I should and I think I have lost track of some things. Already.
I will want to buy more lath and screws to make the sfg grid. I want to build a vertical trellis, too. I LOVE the cattle panel arches. Cost about $25 after tax at TSC. 16' by 4'2"
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2879/
RSS Feed
