Thinning Seedlings & the Growth of the True Leaf

 When planting seeds indoors I usually drop 2-3 seeds into each cup. Once they've sprouted, I give them a few weeks to compete with each other, then once the seedlings begin to form their "true leaf" it is time to thin them, or trim off the weakest links.

This Broccoli sprout hasn't formed its "true leaf" yet. But, you can see that I went ahead and thinned her weakling competitor anyway. I snipped that sucker off so now all of the nutrients and light can go towards one plant, the strongest.

I couldn't get a good focus here with my camera.. Ill figure it out eventually. But you can see on this Broccoli sprout that the true leaf is just starting to peak out.

This seedling has two healthy true leafs growing.

Indoor Seedlings Day 24

 I'm pretty happy with how everything is looking. This morning, I spent an hour thinning the seedlings, then adding potting soil and nutrients to each plant. Over the weeks, the soil gets compacted, or pushed down from watering from the top, then some of the seedlings start to tip over. So I set a bit of potting soil at the base of each seedling, and propped them up. Adding the potting soil to help them stand up will strengthen their roots and stems. Then I sprinkled in a nutrient dense mix of guano/manure/bloodmeal into each cup. 

I hope that this will help them get big & super green!

 Purple Cherokee and Yellow Pear Tomato Starts

 Broccoli, Parsley, Lettuce and Cabbage

Mustard Greens & Kale

Garden Grocery List- Indoor Seed Starting

 In my first post, I went over what it takes to set up lights for starting your seeds indoors. It is unbelievably simple. If I can do it - really - anyone can. Don't let what you read online about expensive grow-light systems intimidate you.. I'm starting seeds basically the same way my Grandpa did, and that man had an epic garden.

Lights- fixture, bulbs, chain
Power Strip
Table & Tarp
Seed Inserts, Trays & clear Lids
Seeds
Water
Potting soil, Vermiculite, Manure
Light Timer
Oscillating Fan
Labels
Seed-Starting Log- when you sow, when they sprout, when to transplant

 I started out with this spray bottle to get my seeds germinated. There are pros & cons. One major con is that this spray bottle sucks. It doesn't actually "spray".. it only "streams." Thanks Dollar Tree.
However, it isnt a complete failure and it worked to get things going. I WILL SAY that taking the time to SPRAY each individual sprout.. can be incessant. Yes, it is a gentle way to treat your babies.. but I'm moving onto the re-purposed ketchup bottle. The water comes out quicker, but still quite gentle, and you wont have sore hands from squeezing that dang spray bottle.

The Holy Trinity. Baptize your seedlings in a blend of Potting Soil, Vermiculite and Manure and they will never disappoint you.

Don't forget to label everything AS you plant it! This year, thankfully, I only forgot to label ONE tray, so by the series of elimination I was able to title it "Green Mustard." Yum.

Seed Starting Log

This is just a log of what has been started inside. I will also be direct sowing onion and lettuce seeds in the garden, and re-planting all of the greens every few weeks. You can keep planting greens through the Fall, so as you harvest, it is recommended that you keep sowing seeds. If for some reason my pepper plants don't sprout, I will also direct sow them in the garden. They take the longest, so I'll give them another week to sprout in-doors before I re-plant the seeds.

Quan	Veg Variety	Sow Date	est. Germ Time	Sprouted	Transplant
12	Pepper- Corno Di Toro sweet pepper	18-Feb	12-25 days		1-May
2	Pepper- Jalapeno	18-Feb	12-25 days		1-May
6	Pepper- Bell, Magno F-1	18-Feb	12-25 days		1-May
6	Celery, Tango	18-Feb	"fast"	9-Mar	1-Apr
9	Tomato, Cherokee Purple	18-Feb	6-14 days	2-Mar	1-May
12	Chives	18-Feb	10-14 days		10-Apr
9	Tomato, Yellow Pear	18-Feb	6-14 days	2-Mar	1-May
3	Parsley, Italian Flat Leaf	18-Feb	12-17 days	5-Mar	Mar 25-26
5	Broccoli, Nutri-Bud	18-Feb	5-10 days	25-Feb	Mar 25-26
6	Okra, green	8-Mar	2-7 days		1-May
8	Lettuce, Big Boston	18-Feb	3-7 days	22-Feb	Mar 25-26
20	Onion, Rossa Di Milano	18-Feb	7-14 days	27-Feb	Mar 25-26
20	Onion, Valencia	18-Feb	7-14 days	27-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Arugula	18-Feb	3-7 days	22-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Kale, Vates Blue Curled	18-Feb	3-7 days	24-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Mustard, Green Wave	18-Feb	3-7 days	23-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Mustard, Red Giant	18-Feb	3-7 days	23-Feb	Mar 25-26
8	Cabbage, Savoy	26-Feb	5-10 days	9-Mar	15-Mar
8	Summer Squash Mix	16-Mar			1-May
8	Cucumbers	25-Mar			1-May
4	Basil, Thai	16-Mar			1-May
4	Basil, Aroma	16-Mar			1-May
4	Basil, Aromatto	16-Mar			1-May
4	Basil, Genova	16-Mar			1-May

Butterfly Amaryllis Blooms after 4 Years

This plant was given to me in 2009. It has moved with me 5 times and finally bloomed just last week.

Problems & Solutions with Indoor Seed Starting

PROBLEM: Not enough Water
SOLUTION: Aluminum pans & clear plastic lids. By starting your seed trays in a pan with a clear lid you will retain 5x as much moisture, and still let the light in. This year, I didn't start my seed trays in aluminum pans & the sprouts started dying almost as soon as they came up. Now, every time I water the sprouts I also pour a little water directly into the pan and let the peat pots soak it up. They love it

Now, since there is more moisture the outsides of the peat pots are growing a fuzzy white mold. I looked into this immediately (as I was terrified) and its completely normal. Apparently the pots are made or all kinds of organic materials including some mushrooms and molds. Cool with me.

PROBLEM Not enough Light
SOLUTION Keep the trays directly under fluorescent lights, with the lights about 3-4 inches above the pots. Move the lights up as your seedlings grow. Do this & you should have no problemo with light.

PROBLEM Not enough Nutrients
SOLUTION Amend. A little bit goes a long way. Start seeds in an organic potting soil. The potting soil has nutrients in it, but the seedlings need/use a lot as they grow. Every 3 weeks the trays will be nearly depleted of nutrients, so keep em stocked, but don't over do it. I put a pinch of bat guano & buffalo loam into each cup every couple weeks to keep em happy.

PROBLEM Seed Disturbance
SOLUTION This is tricky and I don't really like it. There are some super fickle.. or diva.. seeds out there. And they don't like to be disturbed. Many flower seeds are divas when started indoors, as are celery seeds. If you water them from the top they get all jostled around & refuse to germinate. You could delicately mist them with a spray bottle and you could dip the trays into a pan of water, soaking the bottoms, rather than watering from top. Another "gentler" option for watering your seeds is saving squirt bottles from the kitchen, like ketchup or mustard and using those to water rather than using a cup.

PROBLEM Spindly (skinny, weak) Sprouts
SOLUTION Turn an oscillating fan on your sprouts. This will simulate the wind & they will grow MUCH stronger. Once it gets warmer outside & the sun is shining bright, you can start setting your sprouts outside everyday. Start with an hour a day, then go to two hours and so on.. or else you'll shock them. Also, you should touch and talk to your plants often.. there is a lot of research out there showing that this strengthens them as well.

Lasagna Gardening

 Lasagna Gardening! I love it! This is a no-till, low-labor method to build a nutrient rich soil that retains more moisture. Basically, you build layers. Here, I built the layers on top of an already existent garden bed. You could also build this directly on top of grass.. rather than digging up and removing the grass, you can build these layers directly on top of your lawn. It's like... so awesome.

 If I were building a new bed on top of grass, I would have started with a layer of recycled paper and cardboard. Instead I layered straw, leaves and pine needles on top of the garden bed. You could also add grass clippings.

On top of the leaves I added vegetable & fruit scraps! I've been collecting scraps all winter in the backyard and because its been so cold they haven't broken down yet. But hey, thats fine! They'll decompose in the garden bed & the worms are going to looove it!

Next, I raked in a layer of peat moss. This stuff is controversial because it isn't being sustainably harvested. IN the future, Ill use coco peat, which is broken down coconut husks, but since that wasn't available, I went with the peat. These amendments provide aeration and hold on to lots of moisture.

After the peat I spread one handful of bloodmeal over the whole bed. A little bit goes a long way. I've never used bloodmeal before, and as a vegan.. I suppose it could be controversial. This stuff is a slaughterhouse bi-product (I can't believe I just said that) and is permitted as a certified organic soil amendment. It adds TONS of nitrogen, acts as a compost activator and also deters rabbits. I couldn't help myself! These plants are so spoiled.
 Hose it down ya'll.

Then I added a new layer of topsoil and hosed it down as well. Next weekend we'll top it off with horse manure and mulch. The flowers are going to be so happy!

Getting Started: A Garden Planning Summary

Start your Spring Garden Plans in the Fall. This may sound like a lot, but if you just work on it a few hours a week you'll be amazed at how much information you can organize for planning your garden.

After your last fall harvest you'll have a bit more labor to accomplish to begin prepartions for winter.

Here are a few tasks to consider:

• Planting a cover crop in Fall to turn over in Spring.
  -cover crops can be beautiful, but they also serve a more practical purpose of adding nutrients back to the soil. After winter, you can turn them over & re-build your garden on top of them.

• Composting & Mulching your previous/future Garden Plot
  -This is a critical investment in your soil’s future.

• Winterizing and/or stratifying special seeds, planting bulbs and shrubs
  -some seeds can’t simply be sown in the spring. They need the natural cycle of winter before warmth. You can plant these seeds in the fall, or keep them in your fridge or freezer.
  -bulbs and shrubs also do much better when planted in the fall, this gives them time to establish roots & get acclimated to the ground.
  
  Sea Holly seeds planted in soil & stratifying in the fridge for 2 weeks. We'll know by the end of April if it worked!
  
  By January you should have most “Getting Started” tools ready or on hand. In Jan you can start some seeds indoors like greens, lettuces, cabbages, parsley, broccoli and onions. In February you can start just about everything else in-doors.
  Remember, not everything does well started in-doors, as some plants prefer to be directly sown into the garden.  The following are lists you can create to help guide the seed starting schedule.
  
  •   Special Notes- a list of every plant you are adding to the garden, the sun it prefers, level of moisture, companion plants, mature height & width of the plant and any other details you may find interesting or important to remember
  
  
  • Indoor Seed Start- A List of every seed you are starting indoors and when
  • Transplant Schedule- The dates which you can move your indoor seedlings outdoors. Remember to “harden” them first. If you move seedlings quickly from inside to out they will be shocked and probably die pretty quickly. Instead move them outside for an hour one day, then 2 hours the next and more and more until they are ready to be transplanted.
  
  
  • Direct Sow- A list of the seeds you will be sowing directly into the soil come Spring.
  
  
  • Garden Grocery List & Budget-if you have any money concerns whatsoever this is also a critical step. Start a garden grocery List at the end of the fall, and add to it or remove items as necessary. This gives you several months to shop prices and find the best deals around. You may be able to score several items for free. Many communities have free compost, mulch or manure sights. A friend may have old seed trays they aren’t using anymore, and so on.
  
  
  • Garden Map on Grid-I really enjoy this part. If you are a perfectionist or are inclined to drawing or artwork whatsoever you will probably enjoy it too. Measure your plot(s) and draw a grid where every 1cm on the paper = 1sq/ft in the garden. Now you can plan where all of your plants will grow according to companions, area and sunlight needed. For example, your tallest or vertical plants should grow on the North side of your garden, strawberries don’t like to grow near spinach, and tomatoes don’t like to grow near corn. You can plant 16 carrots per square foot and 9 radishes per square foot.. these are all details that you can include on your Special Notes list.