Seedlings, seedlings everywhere!

There has been a lot of seed sowing action chez moi lately. Almost every weekend I find myself sitting on my dining room floor with the seedling tray on a towel and dirt and seeds and water everywhere. Looking at it, you'd think a toddler had gotten into the gardening supplies. I guess I'm just not a particularly neat gardener.

I know I'm starting my seedlings very early, but Boston is a little warmer than the rest of the state and everything I've read says that the last frost date should be between April 15 and April 25. And the fact that I'm container gardening and have an unheated sunroom at the front of the house facing South also helps. Boston weather means that between Monday and today we've had snow, wind gusts, and 65 degree sunshine-y days. It's a balancing act between running the plants already in their big pots (peas and kale and blueberries) out to the porch to get lots of good sun and bringing them back in quickly before the next freak of weather hits.

First it was the lettuce that I planted. It did really well, except for the few in the center that seemed to wither and die no matter what I did. After about 2 weeks in the seedling try the lettuce got transplanted into some window boxes. I had planned on putting these outside on the porch, but then the snow hit so I thought the indoor windowsill might make a better home for them right now.

After the lettuce came the swiss chard and some herbs. The chard was so neat when it came up! I don't know why, but I wasn't expecting my "Ruby Chard" to be so red so early!

After the chard sprouted came the chamomile. Again, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but those leaves were definitely not it. It's German chamomile, which is supposed to be the best for making tea, so I'm looking forward to that.

There's tons of other things in the seedling tray right now, but I'm way behind on taking photos. Hopefully this weekend I'll have some time to catch up. Right now I have strawberries, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, baby bell peppers, lavender, and basil all sprouting in the seedling tray. And one surprise seed that isn't showing yet, but I'm giving it another week or so.

And what else is coming up this weekend? The Boston Flower and Garden Show!!!! (Yes, I know it's nerdy that I'm excited about this, but I'm really really looking forward to it.) This year's theme is "A Burst of Color: Celebrating the Container Garden" and while they are focusing a lot on flowers, there's TONS of workshops and lectures about vegetable container gardening too. More on that soon!

And the seed opens...

...with some help. After weeks of watching the amaryllis seed bulb get bigger and bigger and not show any sign of opening I got impatient. So I Googled a bit - because everything on the internet is obviously reliable - and discovered that the bulb should open within about 3 weeks of forming. Mine had been sitting there for two months.So I took matters into my own hands and ripped it open. I was pleasantly surprised to actually find seeds! While rather large, they were paper thin and totally black.I sorted through them; the only ones that are viable are those with a slight bump in the center, indicating a fertilized seed. There's so many seeds within the pod that not all are going to sprout.After sorting through I planted several of them. I don't have high hopes for them, but it would be neat if some grew into baby bulbs.

New Seeds

So I put an order in on Ebay not too long ago for some seeds to add to my indoor plant collection.

And the winners were, cacti and tangerines. I'm saving the cacti for later, until I have a better setup, but the tangerine seeds are getting sown soon!
I gave 3 of the seeds a good soak and a shot glass seemed to be the perfect vessel to soak the seeds in.

This is the most action a shot glass has seen in my house in years. It probably enjoyed being taken out of the back of the cupboard for a change. After an overnight soak they went into the seed tray under the light. I'll keep you updated on the sprouts!

Dum, dum. Dum, dum, dum dum...

Looking at this thing I can't help but think of the Jaws theme music in my head.

Is it ever going to open so I can get the seeds?

Sprouts

For some extra deliciousness while I wait for the big vegetables - in August, which seems so far away - I decided to try my hand at sprouts. I know there are a few ways to grow them, but I decided to go with the soil method instead of the mason jar method.

We had just had some Florida strawberries (so jealous!) and the plastic tubs seemed perfect. Maybe a little bit deep, but not too bad. And there's lots of drainage along the bottom. I chose to do Adzuki beans and mustard seeds first. This very complicated decision was mostly because that's what Whole Foods had that was organic (non-organic seeds and beans may have been treated with chemicals that will make them un-sproutable and I don't really want to eat a chemical I can't pronounce) and near the checkout. I know, my planning is impeccable.

The beans soaked for about 7 hours and the mustard seeds soaked for about 4 hours to help promote germination. Then I tossed them in and let them go.

Two days later it looked like the earth had exploded!! The sprouts came up so fast it was amazing. And now salads and stir frys and sandwiches have an extra bonus of nutrition and spice!

KALE!

Before we joined a CSA last year I'd never had kale. Now I'm addicted. Kale chips. Stewed kale. Kale with bacon and garlic. It's so incredibly delicious. And did you know it's one of THE best vegetables for you? So many vitamins and nutrients that keep you healthy and raring to go so you can tend to your ever-growing garden. Yum.

So when I went to plan my first garden kale was first on the list.

And according to my planting calendar it's about time to sow the seeds indoors, so off we go.

Tiny little round seeds. In the seed started mix in the seedling tray. Light on. Cover on. Heat pad on. Grow babies grow!

I Lost

So I lost the battle against the seeds.

It was a rough day at work and apparently I don't eat my emotions, I buy seeds with them.

Two different companies and 11 different types of seeds. When I get them in the mail I'll let you know what I got.

Anyone want to guess? They're all pretty random so you have a good chance of getting at least one right.

I should work on my self-control or I'll be wading through a sea of seeds.

Dangerous...

Ok, I've spent too much time looking at seeds online.

It's so tempting to buy one of everything I can possibly find and try it all. And with the gro-light and heating pad it's even more tempting because my chances of successful seedlings are so much higher.

For example:
How cool are these? They don't even look like plants!
http://shop.ebay.com/andrea*seeds/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

And how about this? Heirloom vegetables from Italy? Delicious!
http://www.growitalian.com/

I think what my living room has been missing all these years is a banana tree.
http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/producttype.cfm?producttype=Banana

Someone stop me before seeds take over my house!

Flower Sex

I think I need to find my boyfriend a hobby.

In November I bought an amarylis bulb and planted it indoors. It bloomed right after Christmas and had two gorgeous red and white striped blooms.

I know after it blooms and the blooms die you're supposed to cut it back so it can regenerate the nutrients and bloom the following year.

But I was lazy. I kept forgetting to cut it even though it sits in the living room and I saw it every day. Almost two weeks went past and then I noticed something odd. Underneath one of the dead blooms (that fell off a few days later) was a large bulbous growth.

I noticed this while we were watching tv and mentioned it to J. "Oh yeah, I got bored and tried pollinating it one day."

"What? Can you be charged with forcible sex act with a flower for that? So you're a bee now, is that it? What made you decide to try that?"

"I was bored and curious."

In retrospect, I'm glad he tried it. Google revealed that an amarylis doesn't take well to pollinating itself, but if it does work you get this bulbous growth which is actually several flat black seeds. The pod will eventually crack open so you can get at the seeds.

I intend to watch this thing until it cracks and then plant the seeds under my over-zealous grow lights and start my own amarylis farm. So thanks for your boredom J!!

Sowing Peas

Since the seeds arrived it was time to figure out when I needed to sow them indoors for them to be ready for outdoors. Some seeds can be directly sown outdoors in the pot, but others are needy and want some time inside with a grow light and heat pad.

I'm all about pampering my plants, so I headed to Amazon.com to pick out a grow light and heat lamp. I didn't want anything huge since I'm only growing enough for my patio, and I didn't want a light that would suck electricity like mad - don't need the cops showing up asking why my house is causing a spike in the electrical grid... "Officer, it's just tomatoes and peppers, I swear!"

We also got seed starter mix which is a lot lighter than potting soil so that tiny baby roots aren't suffocated. Yup, plants need air just as much as light and water!

Grow Great Grub had a table in the back to fill out based on the last frost in your area (for Boston it's generally considered to be around April 15th). Then you work backwards on how long the seeds take to germinate indoors, how long it will take them to grow to a good size indoors, and then when they can be put outside.

Most of the plants we're doing this summer can't be outside until after the last frost, so we aren't planting much for a while, but there is one plant that likes the cold. In fact, this plant will stop producing food once it gets too warm. Peas!!

Not surprisingly, pea seeds just look like dehydrated peas. Using the instructions on the back of the seed envelope I planted, watered, turned on the light and the heat pad and put on the top to create a greenhouse effect. It increases the humidity and warmth. Time to let the seeds work their magic.

Seeeeeeds

They're here!! The seeds arrived so it's time for some sowing! Stay tuned...

Uh-oh... Seed Catalog

The hydroponic experiment went so well we decided to venture into other food producing plants. I did some research on seed and seedling companies and finally went with Peaceful Valley out of California. Normally I’d prefer to buy from a more local company, but I was impressed with Peaceful Valley’s selection of organic and heirloom products, their customer service and their prices.

Seed catalogs are dangerous things for people looking into starting a garden. Especially in January with the snow coming down, the temperatures plummeting and some pretty serious cabin fever starting to set in. I tried to reign myself in, but I ended up buying a lot of seeds. Lots and lots of seeds. After ordering, came the long wait for them to arrive from California.

Researching

Things were going so well indoors that I had a crazy idea.

Since our new apartment has an outdoor patio, what if we put some plants out there? Not right now obviously - since the patio is currently buried under about 4 feet of snow - but in the Spring.

As a kid, we had a garden in the backyard that was just dug into the ground. My dad got ambitious and built raised beds one year, so then we had that. But neither of those systems would work on a patio.

I know flowers and herbs grow well in pots, but I'm greedy and I want vegetables and fruits. Would those grow in pots? Would the pots need to be so huge that it wouldn't be feasible? Can you only grow certain kinds of vegetables? So many questions!

A quick trip to the New England Mobile Book Fair (the best bookstore EVER!) yielded all the answers we needed via Grow Great Grub by Gayla Trail. (She also has a neat website.) This beautiful little book talks about the basics of growing food in small spaces, in the ground and in pots, as well as specifics about how to care for different kinds of food-producing plants and the pot size requirements.

The photos in her book hinted at great harvests and had recipe ideas. Now I'd jumped from looking forward to spring to looking forward to the end of summer! It was time to get started. I'd done my research. I'd conned my boyfriend into agreeing to this insane idea. Next up was buying seeds!!