starting seedlings

you can dooooo it!

with lots of help from a few lovely ladies (amy & jessica) and an awesome website, i constructed a few seedling pots from old newspapers, and started 5 types of tomatoes, 3 different peppers, 2 varieties of eggplant and sevvveral herbs. i also used old egg cartons (with drainage holes punched through the bottoms) and a snazzy mini greenhouse (thanks, becky & steve!) to start the li'l sprouts. in several weeks, once there's no longer a chance for frost, we'll transplant these babies to the farm, and cross our fingers that they can survive the golf-eggs, geese, bunnies, deer, sparse watering, and dense clay soil. in other words, we'll be hoping for a miracle.

in addition to the benefit of reusing scraps that would otherwise end up in the trash, another bonus when using the newspaper pots is the ease of transplanting them: you can simply unwrap the bottom and plop the whole thing into the ground! the newspaper will biodegrade, no problemo. the paper pot instructions can be found here:  http://bonzaiaphrodite.com/2009/03/how-to-make-newspaper-seed-pots/

aren't they cute?

once the pots were constructed (and labeled with a permanent marker!), we filled them with a starter mix and moistened (ha, becky!) with warm water. we then popped in a few -- or a lot-- of seeds and watered again. i created a setup with an electric blanket beneath the pots initially, since seeds prefer more heat to germinate than the snazzy new programmable thermostat allows in our house. i also secured a grow light nearby, to provide "sun"light for their happiness. a southern-facing window will also do the trick, if you have the luxury.

baby forest

once sprouted, i removed the electric blanket, and have been misting them with a weak chamomile tea, which is supposed to keep them from damping off. they seem to be liking this treatment, but no matter how much i ask them, they haven't spoken back to let me know for sure. i think the idea is to keep the soil moist with the spray bottle, and occasionally water them from the bottom, if possible, to encourage root growth. i've also been rotating them, to keep the stems growing straight-ish, instead of crookedly toward the "sun."

i must admit, after doing this, i truly believe anyone can start seeds at home. with a little effort, it will certainly save money over purchasing seedlings later on. and, it's rather mood enhancing to envision the bounties of spring and summer during the cold winter months.

happy planting!
xx a.