starting seed

It may be a little early, but I figure it doesn't hurt to have some lettuce going; I can always put it under the cold frame until the ground thaws. So yesterday I started lettuce seed and a few other things in trays. Recently someone asked me how I start seed, and I shared my methods. They had their first success growing some herb from seed! and so pleased, I thought I'd just share it here. I pretty much just use what I have around the house, nothing fancy. Someday I'd like to have grow lights and warming pads and all that, but for now this works fine.

Here's what I do. To get started, you need (not all pictured):

seeds
newspaper
potting soil or seed starter mix
shallow trays of any kind
broken pieces of an old clay pot, or of tile
large bowl or small bucket
piece of dowel, stick, or just your finger
old spoon or just use your hands
spray bottle
plastic wrap
rubber bands
masking tape or labels
a pen

First, lay newspaper down so you don't get dirt on the kitchen table. Decide which trays you will use for what seeds. I use recycled plastic food trays, anything the right size. Make sure your trays are clean- I always clean them with a mild bleach solution, and rinse with water then wipe dry.

Line the trays with broken pottery shards or busted-up old tiles (if your trays are the kind that had strawberries in them and have holes in the bottom, you can skip this)

Mix the soil in your bowl or bucket. If using plain potting soil, I mix in lots of perlite. This isn't the best option, but I've done it for many years. Just make sure it's not the potting soil with plant food added in, that will be too rich. This year for the first time I'm using an actual seed-starter mix, which needs water added in first.

Then put about an inch or two of soil in each tray and pat it down smooth.

Now add your seeds. For large seeds, poke a hole (with old chopsticks, a pencil, your finger, whatever) and drop it in, then cover with soil. Medium seeds, I place on the soil where I want them, then push into the soil a little bit, and pat some soil over them.

Very tiny seeds just place on the soil and then sprinkle a thin layer of soil over them.

Water with your spritz bottle. Unless the seeds are large, if you pour water with a watering can, it can wash them around.

Label your trays so you know what's what.

Cover each tray with plastic wrap and seal around edges with a rubber band. If your plastic container has a lid, just close it.

Put in a warm place. I always stick mine on top of the fridge. Check on them every day to make sure they're not drying out. If there's not water drops condensing inside the plastic, I always spray a little more in there. Once the seeds start growing, take the plastic off and move the tray to a sunny spot. This can be a very sunny window or under a lamp. I don't have a good window so I put mine under desk lamps around the house until they can go outside in the cold frame. Sun outside is the very best thing.

That's it!

Today I started Simpson Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Little Cesar Lettuce, Cilantro and Broccoli. I wasn't planning on doing the cilantro yet but was surprised when I opened my broccoli packet and there were only three seeds left. So I filled the rest of the tray with cilantro. It grows in cool weather, too.

Next I'll do peas...

early shoots

I threw a pile of dry leaves over the daylily corner, to shield against frosts- it's only halfway through january, after all. But a few stubborn Daffodils are still sending shoots up through the leaf cover.

seed swap

I'm trading seeds with a book-blogging friend who also happens to be a gardener, and wondered if anyone else would be interested? I have a lot of extra lettuce seed, of three varieties- bibb (very buttery) simpson (light green frilly leaves, my family's favorite) and romaine. Also some orange cosmos- I've found I like the pink variety better so don't want to grow the orange anymore. These are all seed I've harvested off my own plants, and they've grown just fine for me (I've been growing lettuce from my own saved seed for four years now).

I also have thyme, parsley and rosemary, from store-bought packets.

So... just let me know if you want some seed! and what you've got to trade for it. All it costs is one extra stamp on the postage, to mail a nice fat envelope of seeds.

shabby basil

I've had two small Basil pots in the windowsill, from little self-seeded plants that grew in the garden last fall. They haven't done well, and we've been eating them (as you can see) even though they don't taste very good. I don't know why. The dried basil I have in my spice cupboard tastes way better. So I threw the potted plants on the compost today. It will be time to grow new plants again soon anyway.

plans

The weather is teasing me. Mild, warm days make me think I should be out there digging and cleaning up and tucking young lettuce into the ground. But I know it's too cold and the ground is frozen. Apparently some plants still feel like it's an early spring, too- a lone crocus is peeking its colors out in my front yard. And the local grocery store is already selling seed and soil, even though the garden centers don't open until march. My thumb itches, so I splurged and bought some of that soil, even though it's packaged smaller and costs twice as much than the larger bags I usually pick up at the nursery.

I didn't buy any seed, though. Came home and opened my seed jars in the fridge, sorted through what I have into three piles: plant this year, save for another year, excess (particularly lettuce) I might give away or try to swap. I'm definitely hoping to plant more than last year, but still not sure how much I'll be able to manage with a one-year-old at heels, so I'm not using all the plots- letting the one near the small back patio (that was full of uneaten beets) and the one next to the rhubarb patch (recently converted from lawn and then let go back to weeds again) sit fallow this year. This is what I'm hoping to grow:

carrots
cantaloupe
beets
garlic
lettuce
tomatoes
broccoli
green beans
zucchini
peas
cucumbers
hot and bell peppers

and of course the obligate marigolds, tithonias, perennial strawberries and rhubarb, and herbs. The mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary and lavendar are all still alive out there, so I'll just need to plant cilantro and basil, thinking of trying chives again this year (never got it to grow from seed yet).

And these are all seeds from my fridge. There are quite a few in there I'm not planting- for lack of space and thinking I might not be able to take care of it all. Plus I'm worried about getting another wave of cucumber beetles, or harlequin bugs or something so I'm keeping the melons and squashes to just a few. I do want to try adding butternut squash and brussel sprouts to my garden, perhaps next year...

I took a bit more care with my garden map this year, using the little chart that tells me which crops should follow which, as well as avoiding anything in the same family being in the same spot more than three years in a row. It took a little more time to figure it out but I think I have it right and hopefully will mean healthier plants?

red red

I'm kind of surprised that my Poinsettia is still alive. It's dropped plenty of lower leaves, but the rest of it still looks healthy. It's done better than I expected.

dumb cane

I find I'm not really fond of dieffenbachia, but I have three pots full of them. This one was just a bunch of broken short stems not too long ago. They all keep growing like crazy, yet never seem happy- the leaves stay small and the stems spindly. They're actually looking better now than they have for months, yet I feel grudging about their place taking up window space...

pear future

These little things are pear seeds!

They even look kinda pear-shaped, don't they? I took them out of the core of a few organic pears ate last week. Most of the seeds inside there were flat but the few nice plump ones I saved. Thinking if I could experiment and grow a little apple tree from seed, why not a pear?

odd timing

I have noticed signs of spring. Fat buds on the trees, and robins in their branches. A neighbor's forsythia down the street trying to bloom, yellow clumps on the ends of its bare branches. And in a public spot where daffodils always bloom, I saw bunches of fat shoots coming up through the mulch. Curious, pulled aside some of the dead-leaf litter around my daylily corner and yep, mine were trying to grow too.

But the coldest part of winter is still around the corner. Did the freak october snowstorm and then this mild, warm weather convince some growing things that it was spring already? if the real cold comes, will these plants go back into their dormancy and sleep, or will they suffer. I can only wait and see.

corn stripes

My other Dracanea, the Corn Plant, also seems to be thriving since its repotting.

You can see that some of the newer leaves have bright paler green stripes down their centers, whereas the older leaves below the stripes are faded. I don't know if this is because of the age of the leaf, or because less light reaches the lower foliage?

But I do know it's happy again because new young leaves are growing.

dragon tree

I'm happy to note that the plants involved in my little pot-switcheroo some weeks ago are all doing fine now.

This Dracanea has quite recovered; it dropped a few more lower leaves but is growing some lush new ones atop and overall looks very healthy.

These photos really do not do the plant justice. I love the red edging of the leaves, but can't quite get it on camera.

rose hips

I have some rose hips, ha ha! I've always admired these small, wild roses that are planted in public spaces, and in a few yards around my neighborhood. This one untrimmed rose that overhangs a sidewalk has pink flowers and such pretty bold green leaves with red edges. The other day I noticed it had tiny red and orange hips, looked like little berries. So I picked some and put them in my pocket.

In another yard on a different street I'd noticed a more modern, large rosebush with some nice, fat hips on it. I had been toying with the idea of snipping some, or asking the people in the house if they'd mind. But I was too shy. What if they wanted to propagate their own roses? what if they thought I was weird, a total stranger knocking on the door asking to cut something off the rose bush? I should have done it, though. Just a few days ago walked by that yard and the entire bush was gone. They had cut it down to the ground. So I know they didn't want their hips, they didn't even want the rose plant.

I don't know when I'll try to grow these. They're in the fridge for now.

croton

I have some new plants! A little gift for myself. The first is a Croton, also called Jacob's-coat because of its many colors. I thought these were tough plants but after bringing it home read more about it and they're actually quite sensitive to watering (great, another plant that can't use my tapwater).

Hopefully I can take good care of it and keep its leaves brilliant.

It's keeping company with my Phalo right now.

The other is just an ordinary little Poinsettia, but how bright and lovely! I have high ambitions for this plant; I want to follow Thalassa Cruso's directions for letting it go dormant, regrowing in spring and forcing the red "bloom" again next year. It will be a challenge!

baby crassulas

the little cluster of baby Jades getting so crowded how could they grow

so I gently pulled them apart and replaced spread out (in the same little pot). The parent leaf had some roots so I stuck that back in the soil of another jade pot, just to see what happens.

dreary mums

The yellow pot of mums is succumbing to the cold and hard frosts. But honestly, I like its appearance better this way. I've never been fond of yellow flowers, and the neon-yellow brilliance of mums seems unreal to me. I like pink better. I didn't know these would get a pinkish hue as they fade to brown.

young leaf

This is my favorite of the Avocado plants. I took a picture from each side, I'm that fond of its appearance.

It's even growing some new leaves right now!

The other two plants, not doing so well. They're alive, but don't look as nice. The largest, first one I grew still has its awkward shape. And the smaller, third plant is starting to loose its leaves, not happy. Well, perhaps. It has new foliage coming too, but so small I couldn't get a close-up in focus.

orchid stem

I cut the dying flower stem almost completely off my moth Orchid. It was turning yellow and I was afraid of rot infecting the rest of the plant. This time, instead of dusting the cut end with cinnamon I smeared it with a crayon, having read that wax should be applied to cuts when you prune plants, to keep out bacteria.

The young leaf is definitely getting bigger! I'm not sure how long the plant will rest before flowering again... if it ever does...

beets

I still have a weedy bed of overgrown Beets out there in the garden. It's the only bed I haven't cleared yet. Must get to it soon.

I made one final attempt to eat a few.

Simmered them a long time until tender, but the taste was still off. Not terribly bitter, not inedible, but not sweet either. Definitely going to compost them all. Blah.

garlics

I've never seen my Garlics grow so much in fall, they've really liked this warmer weather and their deep bed of leaves. Hoping for some fantastic garlics come next summer!

rhubarb

My Rhubarb all remains well-tucked in for winter with its leaf blanket. The two end plants have disappeared; I hope only with the usual demise of foliage for the end-of-year. But the middle plant, which was the youngest of them all, still has nice big leaves with some fat red stems that almost tempt me to cut and eat them! I think it also got the most coffee-grounds mulch, wonder if that had something to do with its vigor.

chard

It's turned out to be a nice, long warm fall (after that freak snowstorm in october!). I've long since cut down all the swiss Chard and composted the bug-eaten leaves (had been giving bunches of it to a friend every few weeks, since I wasn't eating it myself) but of course some of the stumps I failed to pull out of the ground are insisting on growing new leaves.

pinks

The pink Cosmos are starting to die, the smaller second-generation plants that seeded of themselves this fall. I've really enjoyed their colors; here's a few photos of them.

mums

my mother-in-law bought me this pot of chrysanthemums when she was here visiting. I never put it in the ground, it's been brightening the spot outside our door on the porch. The color is so vivid. Never had mums before, although I see them all over the place in the fall, lots of people have them in their yards.

special honeys II

Even though I first posted about my new foray into tasting "special" and local honeys on my book blog, I'm going to continue it here because it seems to fit more with the gardening stuff.

On our final trip to the amish farm stand a few weeks ago before they close for winter, I picked out one more jar of monofloral honey: Starthistle. It has an amber color, and a sweet taste but with a very warm, mellow, creamy flavor. I don't know how to describe it at all, but I like it very much. It's my favorite of all the honeys so far.

We also brought home from that trip a batch of mix for making fried green tomatoes and I picked all the final Tomatoes off my plants (which have since been cut down and composted). It was pretty good. I didn't eat mine with honey- it makes the baby puke- but dipped my green tomatoes in ranch dressing. A. tried honey on his and said it was delicious with the Starthistle honey. Next year's end-of-tomatoes I'll give it a try myself.

My daughter was surprised the other day when I brought out all the special honeys for her to put on biscuits. She read all the labels and said "which one is the normal honey we get?" I said clover. She said "but we don't have any! You mean we only have speical honeys right now?"

That's right. And even though I can't eat them, I dip my finger in for just a taste every now and then.

fail

I don't think the Pepper plants will make it through the winter.

They've got some kind of bugs, little white flies. And aphids, though I think those are gone.

I have tried spraying the plants with dishsoap-water until they're dripping. I've set them outside to get chilled- thinking the cold might kill the bugs. I've picked off every damaged leaf and cleaned the rest, by wiping every single leaf with baby wipes and paper towels dampened with water. Every time the bugs come back. They've started to spread to my Avocado plants and I don't want to loose those, so I'm giving up.

I've moved the Peppers outside. If they survive the cold of a few nights, and the bugs don't, I might bring them back in for one last try. But I'm not counting on it.

Oh, and the string of red jalapenos I tried to dry? Just got moldy, threw them out. Of course, you can't cure in cold weather. Maybe if I get more in the summer I'll try again.

thyme

This my Thyme tree was outside on the brick and it grew a lot more lush and green. I've brought it inside for the winter now but realize it's just not as happy inside, so it will be an outdoor plant in the summers...

late cosmos

My pink Cosmos self-seeded; there are a few small plants growing in the strip by the driveway. The plants are only about as high as my knee and the flowers half the size of their parents', but I'm hoping more will grow of their own accord in spring and maybe I can start saving my own seed of them since I like the pinks...