My little Sprouts

Hey

I thought I would touch base and attach some photos. I feel like a mother nurturing all of these seeds. I have three tomato plants currently (1 Brookpact and 2 Whippersnappers) and I am anxiously waiting for the other whippersnappers and Silver fir to sprout (I may have to replant).. My boyfriend who was originally reluctant is now coming home with more seeds daily! So we have now planted, Chives, Parsley, Basil, Cayenne Peppers and Olive Trees. (yes olive trees!).. I have been experimenting with my sprouting techniques.. I have some on top of the fridge, covered in a paper bag and I have a some by the window covered in aluminum foil (I am hoping it will draw the heat from the sun)..

Happy Sprouting Fellow Bloggers

T

Signs of Life

My girl is in bed and my little guy and I are enjoying some time together. From our patio doors, I can see that there are signs of life in our perennial gardens. I'm seeing these beds in a whole new way this year, for many reasons. I'm more grateful than ever that I am blessed with a huge backyard that was loving planted and tended to for 35 years by the couple who built this house. Here is a photo of our rhubarb.

The perennial chives are also growing abundantly. Despite my complete lack of attention and total neglect, these have grown strong and vibrant every year. And here it is, just the end of April and already they are ready to pick and use in spring salads! We also have perennial sage, sorrel and basil but they have yet to show sprouts.


I feel so excited about the seedlings growing on our cart indoors but am equally amazed and excited about the seedlings growing outdoors.

Gardening Freestyle

It's not just my lack of gardening experience which sends me to books and Mother Earth News. I am of 'The Oprah Generation' - the ones who were coming of age when Oprah FIRST started (when she was more like Jerry Springer), and so were raised on self-help books and expert advise. It is natural for my generation to seek information and guidance from outside ourselves, from 'the experts' and 'authorities'. Of course this was all long before people had computers in their homes, much less knew about the internet, so our searches led us to bookstores and the library. Mine still do, mostly - hence why my 'recommended reading' lists are always longer than my blogrolls.
However nothing can replace hands-on, passed-down, trial-and-error knowledge. The 'experts' may say one thing, but the advice that one's grandfather or mother passes on trumps the books every time. It is why every book or magazine article mentions the concept of 'local knowledge' - relying on the experiences and observations of the people who are DOING it (as opposed to just writing about it). I think that it also refers to the successes you have in your own methodologies, regardless of how different it might be from the usual way of doing things.
Yesterday I was at a woman's house for a tech survey. She had a typical black tray / plastic top 'greenhouse' laid out on her deck, with her tiny seeds soaking up the sun - warm and toasty under the plastic lid. Her cold frame was already out of the garage, and while her entire back yard (which was about 6' x 10') had been turned into a patio with stone, she said that in the summer every inch of it was covered in containers filled with tomatoes. She saved her own seeds - taken from tomatoes she had eaten and particularly enjoyed. Like Andrea, her tomatoes are pretty much outdoors from Day 1, only being brought in at night or on really cold days. Pretty much how her great-grandmother would have done it in the years before flourescent lights.
So then, how much to believe of what The Books say? I suppose that nurturing your seedlings in a warm sun with artificial light may only give them a boost up, and the opportunity to be a bit ahead of when Mother Nature planned for them to grow. However, the success that Andrea and this woman have in raising their young seedlings mostly outdoors seems to prove that local knowledge and personal experience count for almost everything. Every method counts, so long as they bring about the desired results for the grower - that being food to eat.
I've been keeping a bit of a gardening journal (on top of our blog) so that next year I remember what I did and what worked. But I think that it will also be helpful to refer back to this next season. and see how the paths taken by the different growers might have been far better than the paths chosen by me. We are all, therefore, contributing to the 'local knowledge' of our group - and hopefully making it available to anyone that wants to grow some dinner.

The birds are nesting (stay away from my seeds)

After the rain yesterday, my area of the world definitely looks revitalized and 'spring-like'. I can also see the starlings building nests, and most of the birds have started to forage on the lawn in earnest (so only the starlings have remained co-dependant on our feeders, of course). I suppose any moment now will become the 'me vs them' struggle.
On Sunday I direct sowed my peas, radishes, green onions and some beets. All of this went into a new raised bed (if you care about my country living struggles, feel free to read about them at www.anurbancountrygirl.blogspot.com) so the soil was pretty warm (it should have been - it was freshly purchased!). I only planted half of the bed, but have laid in 32 peas, 16 radishes, 8 beets (so far), 16 green onions, and 4 leeks. I also planted some shallots in an herb bed I already had (and let me tell you that the chives popped up as soon as the snow melted, in case you were wondering whether chives were a good bet for your own gardening space).
Almost everyone has told me that it's too early for direct sowing, but all of the books that I'm using as reference for my own experiments say that peas, salads, radishes, and green onions can take a bit of frost and that they thrive in cooler temperatures. I've got some old windows nearby, in case I need to lay them over the bed should snow come again. But even with the rain yesterday it didn't fall below 4 degrees.
I mention the peas because they CAN be grown in containers as well as in beds. They need to be trellised (the pole varieties can get up to 6-7'), but they are gorgeous as well as prolific. You could have enough peas to even freeze some. The great thing about peas, also, is that they are EARLY. They don't like hot weather, so unlike beans which need to be planted after the last frost date, peas can be planted a few weeks before it. The peas that I planted mature on average 45 days after germination. So, in less than 2 months I will be eating fresh peas! And as long as they are regularly picked, they will produce well into the summer.
(You can also plant a late crop at the end of the summer if you are adventuresome)
You can buy the seeds for the various types of peas: snap, sugar, pod. You will also want to decide whether you want pole or bush varieties, depending on your space. But the poling variety only needs HEIGHT, they don't require much square footage. So you could easily have a couple of lovely plants offering early summer beauty and nourishment with a minimum of space and effort.
Final note: if you haven't ever eaten fresh peas, you will not believe how yummy they are. Do NOT choose to skip over peas just because you think they will taste like those frozen ones you buy, or like those limp things in the produce section of your store. Garden-fresh peas are crisp and juicy and they taste like spring.

Friends With Benefits

I just found out my next-door-over neighbour is the head Gardener at Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons, a large provincial park near Midland. Chatting with her the other evening, I found out that she is specifically spear-heading a huge vegetable garden project this summer. I feel like I just won the lottery! I told her about Reclaiming Dinner and asked if she would be our Trusted Advisor. Since she's a garden enthusiast and passionate about community projects, she mild manneredly agreed. I don't know if she realizes what she's gotten herself into as I think I'm the most co-dependent one of our group . . . but she has offered me her tiller so that I can turn the soil on our kitchen garden, which hasn't been touched since we moved here in late 2004. As the picture pretty much shows, it's a sad and neglected area.

In my next post, I will be describing two innovative and super cool planting ideas that she gave me, including Upside Down Tomato Plants and PVC Strawberries.

Our seedlings are growing. Just planted the tomatoes today since our last frost is the end of May. But as the pictures show, the basil and peppers are growing strong. We had a nice strong showing of poppies, too, but they haven't transitioned to the window very well. I'm trying to revive the few that are remaining but may just direct sow them after the last frost.

Here's an aerial view of the peppers. I'm not much of a photographer, as you can all tell, but don't they look vibrant and green?

They seem to love the cart I have them on and they receive full sun all morning as they are in a southeast facing window.

I will be installing a flourescent light on the shelf below, where the tomato seedlings will go.

Watch for damping off

Now that your seedlings are growing, you will want to watch out for 'damping off'. This happens when a fungus spreads over the soil surface, and it will eat through the stem of your plant at ground level.
A good start in avoiding this problem is to use seed-starting soilless mix (or the jiffy pellets) - this gives you the assurance that the potting medium doesn't harbour the fungus. If you've chosen to use your own garden soil, make sure it is sterilized beforehand (you can bake it in the oven).
As your seedlings grow, make sure they get adequate ventilation, and that the place that you are growing them isn't overly damp. Let the surface of the soil dry out before you water again (I suppose it is a fine balance between letting the surface dry out and starving the plant for water, which is why I've been checking my plants morning and night).
"The Tomato Bulletin", a pamphlet put out by Terra Edibles (where a lot of these seeds have come from), says that if you add vermiculite or perlite (available at Home Depot or gardening centres) to the potting mix when you transplant can also help avoid this problem. Plus, they suggest that you regularly spray the new seedlings and the surface of the soil with a diluted solution of chamomile tea. Apparently the chamomile is very effective at killing off or preventing the fungus. Giving them adequate light also decreases your chances of having the fungus get out of control.
I've noticed that because I've been keeping my plants within 3" of the flourescent lights, the surface of the soil dries out very quickly. Of all the seedlings I've started, I've only had one show any signs of mold or fungus (and I threw it out right away, rather than try to medicate and fix it). The bookshelf that they are growing on is an old Ikea "Sten" shelf which is open on all sides, so there is plenty of ventilation and ambient light from the room which hits the plants even where the flourescent lights don't.
Is anyone transplanting yet?
As I mentioned, I've transplanted some plants into plastic (flimsy) divided trays (bought for $1 at my seed store), margarine-sized plastic tubs (with holes added), and those coir pots (which I'm nervous about but which you plant along with the plant). In terms of growth, they are all doing equally well, although I do think that the stems on the plants in the coir pots are stronger as I was able to plant them deeper. The gentleman at the seed store assures me that the plants which get a bit root-bound in the smaller tray compartments will thrive once they are in the soil.
Here are is what my tomatoes look like at Week 4:

I haven't noticed any real difference in growing rates between the different varieties. I haven't been growing the dwarf varieties (Brookpact and Whippernapper) either, so perhaps those plants don't grow so tall as they are not meant to get very high ever.
I'm also growing some pepper plants, and while they aren't as tall as the tomatoes, they have beautiful shiny leaves and are starting to fill out. I still find it exciting every day to check on them all.

Alternative to Peat Moss

I am trying not to use Peat Moss because its not considered a sustainable renewable resource...

The peat moss is commercially harvested (or “mined” – depending on which side of the debate you’re on) from these bogs. The process involves digging a network of drainage ditches and settling basins so that the water drains away from the wetland and the bog begins to dry out and die. Once that happens, all surface vegetation is removed and the deposit is ready for peat production. The surface peat layer is dried by the sun and wind. The topmost layer is typically harrowed to enhance the drying process. After a few days, the dry peat layer is collected using a large vacuum harvester or other equipment, then transported to a processing facility for screening and packaging.

Peat bogs are seen by some scientists to be as important and fragile as rainforests, and that’s where the concern lies about the use of peat moss by gardeners. Peat companies are destroying these fragile, unique and valuable bog ecosystems by removing the peat.

Wetland loss due to agriculture and development is a major biodiversity problem worldwide, threatening wildlife habitat. But peat bogs have their own special ecosystem issues and threats. They are home to rare wildlife, including untold numbers of highly specialized native plants, many of which may be endangered and found only in the peat bog.

Peat bogs are also a rich source of social and environmental information. The highly acidic conditions in peat bogs result in very slow decay. That means they provide a unique and irreplaceable record of climate, vegetation and human activity dating back 10,000 years. There have been some remarkable finds in peat bogs, including people buried thousands of years ago and wooden artifacts that have not survived elsewhere.

Peat bogs, like other wetlands, are Nature’s water purifiers. They contribute to healthy watersheds and, in some areas, to safe drinking water for nearby populations, filtering an estimated 10 percent of global freshwater resources. They also provide effective flood prevention. Destroying a bog destroys these benefits. In addition, the ditches required to extract the peat lower the water table and often negatively impact local waterways.

Perhaps the biggest contribution of peat bogs to a healthy environment is as “global coolers,” helping to fight climate change. As the mosses grow, they absorb carbon dioxide, which is locked up within the plant structure as the plants turn to peat. Scientists think these bogs contain more carbon than all the world’s tropical rainforests. But when the bogs are drained for peat extraction or otherwise disturbed, the peat starts to decompose and the carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere, where it acts as a potent greenhouse gas.

I was able to buy bio-degradable pots for my seeds to grow in, that do NOT contain Peat Moss, but the soil I used was left over from my step mother's planting, and it was a general organic soil.. I didn't look to see what the mix was, I will see if I can find it out, as most of my seeds have started to sprout, so I believe it is probably a good mix, but I am not sure if its actually free of Peat Moss...

I have heard Coconut fiber is a good alternative when doing hydroponics.. and that you don't actually always need to have peat moss included in the soil mix.. you can buy a commercial soil without PM and add perlite and vermiculite if the plants don't do well or stop growing.

I haven't tried the above personally, because I have always grown my tomatoes and peppers right out of the ground, and have never had to add anything to the soil...

I will keep my eyes open for a good soil without PM..

and keep you posted!

Andrea

If you're going to have tomatoes, you might as well make salad

I'll admit that I'm not big on salad.  This despite, or perhaps because of, being a vegetarian - too often salad is offered up as the 'veg choice' for a meal.   But EVERYTHING I read that is in any way related to gardening talks about growing lettuce / salad mixes.   How lettuces (not just iceberg, of course) grow so quickly, how you can harvest bits a time and they'll keep growing back, how they are one of the crops that ushers in spring.  I have started to question my perception of lettuce as bland and boring.  And really, what would I have to lose if I planted a few seeds?

Salad can be grown in a box - a minimum of 8" wide and 6" deep (the bigger the box, though, the slower it dries out).  This means salad can be grown on a patio, a deck, a balcony, a windowsill.  

Some salad varities are cut-and-come-again, which means you harvest the leaves when the plants are 2-4" high and then the leaves shoot up again, so you can actually get four helpings from one planting.    Otherwise, try leaf lettuce - you can harvest mature outer leaves from the plants each week.  

Lettuce can be sown outdoors in late April.  If you have the room or the inclination, you can plant more seeds weekly so that you stagger your crop (especially if you are a salad lover).  Lettuce likes full sun and good soil.  If you aren't trying the 'square foot gardening' method, you will want to sow approximately 1 seed per centimeter, then thin them out as they mature to a spacing of about 20 - 30 cm of space (eat the seedlings you pull out!).   Lettuce doesn't appreciate a lack of water.

Even if you decide to only plant a couple of seeds now and then, you'll grow enough lettuce to put on your tomato sandwiches.  But if you plant a bit more, you'll be able to showcase your beautiful early tomatoes on a bed of homegrown lettuce, with a nice balsamic dressing to top it off!

Since lettuce requires so little room, I'm thinking that there is no excuse NOT to grow a salad.

Tomatoes Need Friends

With the tiny sprouts growing into young seedlings, it is easier to imagine your future plants - strapping specimans laden with juicy tomatoes. And now that you've realized that growing seedlings from seed is pretty easy, it's time to start imagining some possible friends for your tomatoes.
Tomatoes thrive when they have chives, onion, parsley, or garlic planted near by. So if your pot is big enough, plan to drop a green onion seed or two in the pot. If you invest the $2 or so for the package of seeds (which contains hundreds of seeds) you might even get yourself a couple of designated 'green onion pots' and grow them in a sunny window all year round. You can also buy garlic that is meant to be planted - although garlic is best planted in the fall. You might consider starting some parsley from seed, but it'll be just as easy to grab a small plant from your corner store and drop it into it's own pot, which you can then house beside the tomatoes. Chives are a great herb to grow in a container - they are a 'cut and come again' kind of plant - meaning that as you harvest bits of the stems it is encouraged to grow even more. Chives also self-sow when it starts to flower, so you'll get chives with little effort.
The great thing about planting perennials like parsley and chives in containers - you can bring them indoors for the winter and have yummy fresh herbs while it's snowing outside. The list for 'bring inside herbs' would also include oregano, thyme or rosemary. Basil is an annual, so it might be harder to nurse it through a whole winter. I know that it is not a new suggestion to have herbs in your home over the winter (even Metro sells those kits), but since you've got the tomatoes going, you might as well have herbs to compliment the salad or salsa or sauce.
Other edible plants that help tomatoes are carrots, marigolds and nasturium. Carrots are another crop that you can grow indoors over the winter (although don't expect to grow enough to satisfy your needs) but you could definitely grow a few in containers alongside your tomatoes. Nasturtiums are edible, and lovely to look at so while your tomatoes are being protected from certain pests and are growing more hardy, you can contemplate your pretty flowers and then pick them for a snack (they are quite peppery). Marigolds are another attractive plant that discourages pests like nematodes while looking like a mere ornamental.
It is easy to companion plant in small spaces, it doesn't have to be expensive and the rewards (better tasting tomatoes and fewer pests) make it totally worth the effort.

Container Gardening Cheat Sheets

I've been reading "Guide to Canadian Vegetable Gardening" by Douglas Green and for those of you who are planning on planting your tomatoes in containers, I thought you might find the following tips helpful:

TYPES OF CONTAINERS
Bigger containers are better because they hold more soil which means that the soile (and therefore the roots of the plants) won't dry out as quickly. Try to keep the pots cool - if the pot gets hot the soil gets hot, and when the soil gets hot the plant stops growing. DON'T use black pots - the soil in black pots can reach over 30 degrees on a hot summer day, which shuts the plant down. This guy recommends clay pots as they stay cooler (because they don't absorb as much sunlight and stay cooler as they evaporate water through the walls of the pot), but make sure they aren't GLAZED (also, the glaze can apparently leach). Make sure that whatever pot you use has drainage holes in the bottom! If you are reusing old pots, make sure to wash them thoroughly before planting this year, so that you clean away remnants of diseases.

THE RIGHT KIND OF SOIL FOR CONTAINERS
This guy recommends soilless mix which would include peat moss. He feels that in container gardening, any soil in the mix can easily become compacted which suffocates your plants. The peat moss absorbs and holds moisture. He also says that putting rocks or ceramic shards in the bottom of the container is an old wives tale. Mel Bartholemew in "Square Foot Gardening" also advocates soilless mix for containers: his recipe is 1/3 course vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 compost.

** A note on peat moss - it is being suggested more and more that we try to avoid peat moss as the ancient bogs are being drained and harvested for the peat moss, thereby having a huge environmental impact. Has anyone heard of any replacements for peat moss?? **

WATERING YOUR CONTAINERS
You must check and water your containers daily, and even twice a day during hot spells. This is because containers dry out much more quickly than in-ground gardens. If you let your container dry out, the calcium in the soil stops moving up the plant towards the tomato and then you'll develop things like blossom end rot (that black rotting bit on the bottom of your tomato). You may need to water daily, and water well - soak the plants so that water runs out of the bottom of your container. Water from BELOW the plant's foliage (ie don't use a sprinkler system - use either a watering can or a drip hose at the roots). Now, Mel Bartholomew writes that his mix requires only 2 x per week watering - I would say that it would be better to check your plants daily, though, to make sure.

FEEDING YOUR PLANTS
Because you are watering your plants so often, some of the nutrients will wash away with the water. And since your roots are confined to only the soil you've provided (ie those nutrients can't be replaced without your help) you'll need to feed the plants. Douglas Green recommends at least once per week, and Mel B's method requires every second week. Use an organic fertilizer (you can make your own, see below).

MULCH YOUR CONTAINERS
Don't forget to mulch!! It will save you a lot of water, keep your soil cooler, and keep the weeds down. You can use straw, cocoa shells, or even pieces of cardboard. Mel B even says to use an old piece of carpet! You can use wood chips, too, but apparently they don't encourage the kind of bacteria you want for vegetables, so you don't want to mix them into your soil too much.

In my next post, I'll try to gather some information on PEST PREVENTION AND REMEDIES.

In the meantime, here is Mel Bartholomew's "Square Foot Gardening Basic, All-Purpose Fertilizer" (or you can buy some at a gardening centre)

1 part bloodmeal (available at gardening centres or Home Depot) *
2 part bonemeal (same as above) *
3 parts greensand (I know that Urban Harvest sells this: http://www.uharvest.ca/)
4 parts composted leaf mold (I haven't seen this for sale, but perhaps at a garden centre?)

* I've found that bonemeal and bloodmeal help deter squirrels and racoons from your plants - I don't think they like the smell of 'death'.

Another option, if you only have a couple of containers, is to get TerraCycle plant food, which is worm poop and plants seems to love it. It can be a bit more expensive, but you don't have to feed your plants as often as the container suggests.


ONE LAST NOTE: Depending on your variety, you might have to provide some vertical support for your tomatoes, too - it doesn't have to be a cage, any kind of upright structure (teepee shape or u-shape) will do. You can also support the plant on a railing, eavestrophe downspout, or whatever you have handy.

It's Not Just About Taste

Besides the pleasure of growing your own veggies, and the delicious flavour of a freshly picked tomato, here are some other reasons you might be glad to growing your own heirloom tomatoes:

In "The End of Food", Thomas Pawlick compares the nutritional data on common fruits and veggies between 1963 (one of the first years that the US Department of Agriculture calculated the vitamin and mineral contents of food in a standardized way) and 2002. He used the tables provided by the USDA, which are used to calculate the values you see in the charts on the food you buy. He found that between 1963 and 2002, the conventional tomato that you buy at the store has:
- 30.7% less Vitamin A
- 16.9 % less Vitamin C
- 61.5 % less calcium
- 11.1 % less phosphorus
- 10 % less iron
- 1% less thiamin

BUT also has

- 65% MORE fat
- 200% MORE sodium


I think that this is one of the more important issues in growing heirloom / old varieties - the fact that you are also growing something that is GOOD FOR YOU, something that contains the vitamins and minerals that you expect it to, without the salt and fat that you don't want or expect.
This is a fundamental part of reclaiming dinner - the ability to eat nutritious food.

Kale and Pepper

Hey All,

I have 5 kale sprouts... ( Red Russian Kale)

2 Purple Russian spouts(tomato), and 1 Believe it or not sprout.. (tomato)

These are pictures of the kale sprouts, the tomato sprouts are too small to see

on camera.

We are going to Barrie for a few days, so I have put all my enviro-planters on a baking sheet, in the sun, and we are going to put water in the bottom of the baking sheet, so they plants can feed themselves from the bottom of the planter and stay moist, we will be gone for 3 days..

Happy Long Weekend!!!

Andrea

Hey Growers,

I have Kale growing!!!!

They are growing out of the enviro planters I bought.

No tomatoes or peppers yet, but if I remember from previous years, they take a little longer then the leafy veggies..

The rest of the seeds I have, I have planted in the jiffy pelts that Mel gave me

which I have never used before, but it looks like they are working well for all of you.

Happy long weekend Everyone, keep growing!

Andrea

3 Weeks in

It's been a few weeks since I planted my pepper seeds and about 2 1/2 since I planted the tomatoes. So here's the update -

The peppers are coming along well. I planted them in 2 batches - the 1st batch I blogged about, and then a few more seeds just before I did the tomatoes. Already I've transplanted quite a few of them into bigger peat pots (6") even though I know that peat pots are terrible for the environment. The other ones I've left in my recycled small-ish yogurt containers. They seem to be growing up pretty straight and for the most part have a few sets of leaves.

The tomatoes quickly outgrew their jiffy pellets and so I went to Tregguna Seeds (in Hamilton) in search of more pots. But the REALLY HELPFUL staff there (and let me mention here that nothing beats a seed store or a gardening store for helpful advice - the staff usually knows how to grow things, unlike the staff at Home Depot that seem better equipped to point you to the lawn mowers or something) gave me some GREAT tips:

1) DON'T plant your tomatoes and peppers into big 6" pots too early when you are growing them indoors, or by the 6th week they are tall and huge and outgrowing your light source (in my case my bookshelf/flourescent light setup). You can keep them in smaller pots where they will still grow but a bit more slowly as they'll almost be root bound... but he assures me that they will be strong when they go outside.

2) DON'T therefore spend a lot of money on big pots, he is completely of the mind that recycled margarine containers (with holes drilled in the bottom) are perfect

3) When you transplant the peat pots, make sure the WHOLE pot is in the ground. If the lip of the pot extends above the ground, it wicks the water away and then doesn't break down properly. He also suggests you can gently cut the peat pot (very carefully in case the roots have started to grow into the pot) in order to ensure it will decompose. Finally, if you can spray the peat pot with water prior to planting the whole thing, the roots will have an easier time growing through.

Too bad I already planted my peppers in 6" peat pots... I hope they don't take over their shelf!

Finally, something I've noticed about my tomato seedlings... they've started to lean over - I think the flourescent bulbs they are under are maybe too cool or something and they're not getting enough lights. I've been rotating them to try and compensate, but this weekend I have to find a solution because they are definitely looking wobbly!

Final note about my tomatoes - I had about a 90% germination rate, which seemed great to me. But because I planted so many plants, I noticed that some varieties germinated almost at 100% and then some germinated at 10%. I've tried twice now to get a "Pineapple Ground Cossack" to germinate and still no luck. I'm going to try again this weekend.

By the way, it's really exciting to hear about everyone else's progress.

And it starts...

Hello Everyone,

I have finally started my seeds. I decided to get Planters Pride Plantable Pots, they are fibre enviro-containers that are biodegradable.

I bought six containers and planted 2 of each: Fish Peppers, Big Rainbows, Red Russian Kale, Believe it or Not, Purple Russian, and Lipstick Peppers...

I left them outside in full sun all day and I am going to bring them in to place them on the window sill (South facing) at night and when its colder temp's. My house is also pretty warm, we keep it at about 22 degrees. I have never used Jiffy Pellets, I have always just planted my seeds shallow in good indoor planting soil, and kept them moist and warm..

I will try the Jiffy Pellets (that Mel provided) with a few of my seeds but I haven't started that yet, I figure I will do that later tonight indoors..

Last year I grew tomatoes and peppers from seed and had no problems.. Although we have moved from downtown Toronto to West Toronto, so the soil conditions will be different.

I am going to try to grow some of my plants in planter pots, and some in the ground.

I also have beans that I will be directly sowing when the temperature and soil in the ground is a warm constant.

My mother in law and grandmother in law will be taking some of my seeds as well to try in Barrie and New Lowell, both north of Toronto.

Anyhow, I will keep you posted. Very Excited to get started!!!

I have officially sprouted.. and I think I like it

Hey fellow growers!

I only planted one of my three packages until today and I just had a sprout. It took two weeks (I think slow and steady is just fine!).. I have one little sprout but it looks healthy and happy. I have it in the window now sitting pretty.. There is a heating register under the window to keep it warm and the window gets lots of sun so fingers crossed.

As for the other seeds.. I planted them today in my jiffy packs and placed them all on a plate, with an inch of water and covered them and put them on top of the fridge.. still some sun but also alot more heat and hopefully, I will have more sprouts coming soon!

I will add photos shortly ..

Anyways.. just wanted to share in my excitement!

Cheers

T

2nd atempt

So tonight is the bginning of my 2nd journey to veggie town. I had a bit of a bumpy ride the first time around so I am now attempting to go at it again.

With the advice of our almighty leader I have bought a heating blanket and I am ready to go.

Looking ahead I have been doing some reading about where I am eventually going to transplant my little garden. I mentioned last weeks issue of NOW and how great the feature articel Home Grown and it was that article that inspired me to build my own little 'square foot gardening' planters. There are great ones you can buy for the price of your first born child at the Square Foot Gardening website. I really like the 2'x4' boxes but they are super easy to make yourself as well.

Also for all of us patio planters water is a HUGE issue so I read that our gardening guru Mel Bartholomew says to fill your box with 6 inches (15 centimetres) of “Mel’s mix” (one-third compost, one-third vermiculite and one-third peat moss). NOW's 'Home Grown' articel talks more about this mixture and acutally gives a few more eco-friendly substitions to "Mel's mix"