Seedlings

Well, I'm finally feeling somewhat recovered from the musical.  I took Monday off of work (to relax), and was able to start working on my future garden (yes, garden work is relaxing to me.)  I ordered many seeds from the Urban-Farmer site that I posted about earlier, as well as a few tomato cages and a couple of seed starting trays like the one above.  They contain these flat, hard disks, that you soak in water for about 10 minutes so that they can expand.  Once expanded, for some odd reason they reminded me of little cocoons. (Which I guess is essentially what they are since they are of fostering new life.)

These are the little seed packets that came in from Urban-Farmer.  I love the way they are made out of recycled magazine pages.  The seeds pictured here, I planted in the containers above.  They all needed to be started indoors.

These are some flower seeds that also needed to be started indoors.  I purchased these seeds from Seed-Savers Exchange, a non-profit organization made of people who save and pass on heirloom seeds. 

As I sat on my covered deck, under an overcast, but fresh, cool day, I was fascinated by the different types of seeds.  Some were barely visible, like these Greek Oregano seeds.  I wasn't always sure if they even made it into the little cocoons.

Here's a dark, cycle shaped type...chives, to be exact.  What I would like to know, though, is when did my hands start to look like my grandma's? (This is what happens, kids, when you spend your life ruffing around in soil, playing with chalk, paint, ink, oil pastels, and a myriad of other art materials, and handling fabric in your spare time!  Don't do what I do if you want nice soft, wrinkle-free hands!)

Pepper seeds look just like what you would expect....of course.

These tiny little things are from a flower called "Love-Lies-Bleeding."  Such a powerfully dramatic name for such a small seed.  They were also the first seeds to sprout in the container. (you will see them below)  Don't judge a book by it's cover, I always say!

Compare these monsters to the seeds above! (They kind of gross me out, if I am honest, because they remind me of bloated ticks.) They are from the Gibsonii Castor Bean, and they nearly didn't fit in the cocoon.

These seeds were burr-like.  They made me think of the many times growing up, when my brother and I went wandering through our parent's woods, and came home with muddy boots and tiny burrs stuck to our clothing.

I ordered garlic bulbs, and I REALLY need to get them in the ground RIGHT NOW!  After receiving them in the mail, I kind of wondered if I couldn't have just used the garlic I buy in the grocery store...they look identical...anyone know the answer to this?  I had to rescue these from my cat.  She decided that they made a good snack, and started chewing on the package.

These are the last of the seeds that I ordered.  They aren't meant to be started indoors.  So, in April, after the last fear of frost, they will be sewn directly into the garden.

This is a packet of concentrated sea-weed.  Apparently, sea-weed is a fabulous fertilizer for plants.  This one, wonderfully named "Sea Magic" (don't you just love the mermaid!!!) This little 1oz. package gets dissolved into 1 gallon of water...this is your concentrate.  Then, you use only 3tsps of the concentrate for every quart of water...watering with it only every two weeks.  It should last all spring and summer. (Again, don't judge a book by it's cover...a little goes a long way, right!)

Fast forward to today...six days of incubating in a warm, dark place...and the first of the seeds are beginning to sprout. (The ones above are the "Love-Lies-Bleeding" seedlings.  Beautiful, aren't they!)  Time to hang up the shop lights and let them grow.  In two or three weeks, they will be ready to transplant into the garden.  Here's to hoping there aren't any frosts in April! (And here's to hoping my cat doesn't find the seedlings and chew on those too!)

Comments

Nabila Grace said…
Oh how exciting!!! I was actually just looking at my Seed Savers catalog and drooling over seeds! ;o) I might have to order a few from there. I have bought a good number of seeds in the last few weeks. It's been so stormy here I haven't been able to get anything into the ground yet sadly. I'm also trying to get the hubby to expand my garden but bc of horrible storms and lots and lots of rain...everything is super delayed! I do need to start my veges inside though. ;o) Been deep cleaning my house though! This week hopefully it will get all done! I can't wait to see the progress of your seeds! It's so exciting! ;o)

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