I love the smell of tomato vines. It is my favorite smell either. I planted an early batch of tomatoes and finally got them transplanted today after they were way past the seed-leaf stage. I start all my seeds in trays with a seedling mix until they sprout and get those first two seed leaves (and longer if I don’t get around to it) and then put them in their final container. It works well. I’ve been mildly interested in what others do. I’m trying to remember what we did the time I took Greenhouse management and worked in the greenhouse. I think we seeded stuff in vermiculite in grooved trays, and after that transplanted to the final growing pot. Elsewhere I’ve seen soil bl0cks, plug trays, and an assortment of odd containers.

I was wondering about the small plastic tops that are frequently put on top of a seed tray. Something like that is absolutely essential for cuttings, but is it really needed for seedlings? I couldn’t remember using them (I think we might have, but I’m not sure), so I went to look it up. And found out that I sold my greenhouse textbook. This is the second time I’ve gone looking for information in it. Maybe its time to buy it again. I used my other basic horticulture textbook. It mentions using the top, or putting a plastic bag or saran wrap. It does help keep in the humidity and prevent it from drying out. I think the benefit only extends until shortly the first leaf development. I haven’t used anything. My soil retains moisture very well (wetting agents help), and I spray it down when I see it drying out. Everything is germinating quickly and well.

What do you do to start seeds?

It’s spring! I must admit I’ve been enjoying late winter so much I’m almost sad to see it go. I guess I’m enjoying it so much because it has this tint of spring to it…and there aren’t quite as many things to get done out in the garden.  Here’s what I’ve been up to in my garden:

I built a seed starter out of an old metal shelf, shop lights, and chains. Here it is:

Not bad for $30. I started leeks a few weeks ago. Eggplant, peppers and butterfly were seeded the beginning of this week. The butterfly weed has been an interesting plant to start and I hope they turn out. I bought the seeds from Johnny’s and I have tons. To get them started, I stratified the seeds. This is a fancy term for a cold treatment, or sticking them in the refrigerator. The directions said to seed them in moist soil first and then refrigerate. I don’t have that much room, unlike greenhouses that usually have walk-in fridges. I’ve done it by putting them in vermiculite in a plastic bag, but I decide to just put the seeds in a wet paper towel inside a plastic bag.  It’s easy and it works. They were in there two weeks, which is a short stratification but still should increase the germination rate. I think it worked pretty well–I’m already beginning to see their little green seed leaves. They’ve beat the eggplant and peppers at germination rate: still no green sign from them.

Spring clean-up is well underway.  I’ve taken over landscape maintenance at my HOA, and started cleaning up the property grounds. There was a lot of winter breakage that made for a large pile of sticks, plus more from pruning a few ornamental trees. The neighborhood did a haul to the green waste facility, so all the wood is gone. The old maintenance company left piles of fall leaves and I rescued the dying grass underneath. There are still lots of leaves to clean-up due to a lack of good fall clean-up. I’m’ hoping to turn this minimally managed landscape around, and it’s really nice to have a landscape to take care of where I’m actually paid to do it instead of paying to have it done, or basically paying myself to do it.

Over at my grandparents we pruned the peaches. I realized the twig dieback was winter-kill, and not insects/disease. The simple cultural answer is usually the right one; shame on me for blaming it on insects at first. At my grandparents we also took a hated, weedy Oregon grape and limbed it up. There was a lot of debri in and underneath the shrub, so it’s a lot cleaner now. I didn’t mind it before, but now it does have a more cultured look to it.

Last gardening task for this week was cleaning out a flower bed. I was hired to do this, and throughly enjoy the prospect of seeing an overgrown perennial bed changed to a vegetable garden. It was good hard work getting rid of yuccas (that have gorgeous red roots), spruces, perennials and grasses. The soils was absolutely perfect for cultivation which made our job easier. We added a layer of compost after removing the plants, and I bet this garden will soon bring forth great plants.

I’m still enjoying my bulbs. The crocus and Showwinner tulips are almost gone, but the early stardrift (Puschkinia libanotica), grape hyacinths  (Muscari armeniacum) and minnow daffodils are in full bloom. I love the minnow daffodils, with their itsy bitsy daffodil bloom. Still have a couple more bulbs to come up…we will see if they do.

And now it is officially spring. Time to plant peas, lettuce and cool season crops, start planting hardy ornamental plants including all the bare root stock, cultivate soil, and maybe teach a class. It definitely is the busy season.

I’m getting antsy to start my vegetable seeds. It’s a new project this year. In the past I’ve bought transplants, but I decided I could save money by growing them myself.

I was incorrect. I have spent way too much money on seeds, and even more on a seed starting shelf. But I’m throughly enjoying myself so it’s all worth it. I build a whole set-up for $30, much better than the systems I see that cost hundreds of dollars. I think there is little to zero difference between a “grow light” and shop light. Plants just want the photons, they don’t care so much what spectrum they are in. (Plant do “see” photons in a specific spectrum, and see less green than other colors. That’s why we see plants green. But they don’t care that much, certainly not enough to spend extra on grow lights. Incidentally, the most efficient way to grow plants is under red light. Red light doesn’t require as much energy to produce but to the plants a red photon is as good as any other.) Anyway, I purchased a couple of shop lights and I’m waiting for the time to be right to start planting. So far, I’ve started some leeks and tomatoes. (The tomatoes really don’t need to be started yet, but I had a little friend over and we were having fun.)

What to know when to start seeds? I like Johnny’s Selected Seed calender. I like Johnny’s as a company too, and ordered lots of my seeds from them. I also made my own veggie growing calender, that expands on Johnny’s a bit. Go here for more information.

The bulbs are coming up in full force too. I apparently planted a very early red tulip that’s quite pretty (I think its Showwinner). See pictures:

It’s February and I have flowers in my garden. 😀 I was sitting on the step enjoying the wonderful warm weather we’ve been having and I thought, “I wonder if my bulbs are starting to come up.” So I went and looked and much to my surprise, two crocuses were blooming. The little blooms are quite a lift to my winter-tired spirit.

Today I also went out and decided to start tackling the winter annual weeds in front of my windows. The filaree had to go. I noticed them last fall when they germinated, and scraped some of them away. That only succeeded in bring more seeds to the surface and getting even thicker coverage of the weed. I proceeded to ignore it, but now with all my bulbs coming up I don’t want a background of filaree. The weather is incredibly nice, so while outside at the insistence of my toodler, I started to dig at them.

At first I was just hand weeding them. It was going well, nothing deep rotted. Then the smell of dirt, the feel of soil under my fingers, and the feeling of good old work got to me. I realized I really miss gardening. Further reflection had me thinking that it’s impossible to be depressed while gardening. Spring can not come quick enough.

I have this wonderful pruning post that’s almost finished, but I feel it is too serious to match my mood right now. Instead I would like to give a great big shout-out to all those wonderful bloggers who talk lovingly about pouring over seed catalogs. I took some recommendations and ordered some.

Wow.

I have found the joy that comes from pouring over pages and pages of seed catalogs and now I want to start a small farm so I can try everything. (My first gardening love is kitchen gardens. Flowers came after I started growing tomatoes. So I still get way more excited over purple carrots than I do pink echinacea.) This year I will have more than my patio garden.

I am currently in charge of starting a condo garden for my HOA. It will be great. I will have room to grow vegetables, be able to see other people’s vegetable gardens, get rid of some of the massive amount of turf around my apartment, and retain control of the sprinkler system that seriously over watered last year. Downside is that I’m in charge. Last community garden I did I wasn’t the one in charge, just the one that ended up doing everything that no one else would do. (Which was lots of weeding, plot layout, designing an occasional flier and wondering why shovel would mysteriously disappear and reappear. Maybe time I won’t have to weed so much.) I’m mostly excited. So far all I’ve accomplished is a spot picked out. It’s still covered in lawn and snow.

So because I’ll have my own kitchen garden this year, I also have plans to start my own seeds. Again, all I have done is picked the spot to put a seed-starter. This was all decided before I got seed catalogs, and now my plans are cemented. I will not go to Big Box Store and buy transplants. (Bad lazy habit I wish to rectify.) I will grow all of my vegetables from seed and end up with much more interesting plants. That is if I can skip my natural inclination to try everything and decide on the few I want to plant.

Everything is covered in snow, but I’m actually more excited about how my plants are doing than most of the summer. My houseplants are blooming. Specifically the Swedish ivy (Plectranthus australis to be precise) that I have had for three years and have not seen a single bloom on it until now. The goldfish plant (Columner gloriosa) also has a few blooms, although it had more several weeks ago. Then it came under the wrath of my scissors and got quite a haircut.

Both plants are amazing hardy and vigorous houseplants, but they took three years to flower. I think they didn’t get enough light until this year,  now that I have nice sunny south facing windows. The flowers make me exceedingly happy. I only have three houseplants (and that’s enough for me), the two mentioned and a Ficus that hasn’t grown more than two inches in almost five years. The physiology of that plant might as well be plastic.

I do not take wonderful care of my houseplants. I had more. Last year they sat in the window sill behind a curtain in my cold bedroom. I froze them. They looked like this after I cut off the dead stuff:

When I moved, I decided revival was not worth it. So they were re-potted in the trash. The houseplants I have remaining can apparently take a little cold. My care included watering them, often much later than I should have, occasionally throwing fertilizer on them (slow release about once a year), giving haircuts when they get too big. I don’t repot anything, because I like the pots they are in. It’s too much work too, besides houseplants actually like being root-bound.

Hmmm…I was just reading up on goldfish plant and apparently it needs a little “extra care.” I disagree, since I haven’t given mine any, and it is doing great. Here’s some more pictures of my beloved houseplants. I was having fun with the goldfish plant:

The end fingers of my hand are tingling. I must have hit a nerve or something as I was digging. I do have a nice blister in the middle of my palm, and I am wondering why I can’t hold a trowel properly. I got a blister from a trowel. I have now learned that I really should go out and buy or permanently borrow a good shovel. A trowel was not meant to be used to plant so many bulbs. It would have been much easier just to dig up the bed. Oh well. It’s done and I hope my fingers will stop tingling soon.

But the good news is I just planted over 100 bulbs in front of my apartment. (100 seems like a lot until you start planting. Could have used three times as much.) I ordered them forever ago, and they finally got here later than I would have liked. Luckily it is extremely warm right now. (It’s November and I was outside sweating!) The deplorable landscape should turn into a mass of spring color. I hope for that, at least. But anything has to be better than the deadness that currently grows there.

Little son actually helped too! He would put the bulbs in the hole and cover it with dirt. He’s turning into quite the little gardener. Although he also tried to eat the dirt, the rocks, and a bulb. What can you expect from a one-year old?