March 26, 2007
17 Comments
Gardening 101 Propagation Spring

Seed-Starting Basics

Seed-starting season is in full swing in these parts. I’ve been getting loads of questions about it via email and figured it was time to put together a seed-starting recap here on the site.

I started my own tomato, pepper, and tomatillo seeds this weekend and put in orders with two seed companies to complete my 2007 Scary Mega Plant List. This last order totalled about 25 packs of seeds coming in at roughly $75 US. When you take into account that this does not include the transplants I will get in early June… well now you know why it’s the “Scary Mega Plant List.” I don’t want to scare anyone off and give the impression that gardening has to be this expensive. I do not fall into the norm since I consider my garden to be an experiment and a BIG, BIG part of my job. I grow as many new varieties as possible every year in search of beautiful, drought tolerant, delicious, and container-suitable plants to share with you. Most people do not grow 5 different pea varieties on their urban rooftop!

First I’ll show you my plan for this year. In my last post I gave a review of the Windowsill Seed Starter. What I did not mention is that I managed to snag the larger version at a garage sale for $3! The larger version is much more reliable with larger pockets that will keep your seedlings healthy for a more reasonable length of time — the downside being that it will not fit on a windowsill.

seedstarter4.jpg

Because I am short on space I have a crazy plan based on last year’s experiment in which I moved my final repotted transplants to a window in the hallway of our apartment building to live out their final days before heading outside. By the time they were large enough to repot, the hallway was warm enough to accomodate them. It also made a nice transition from cushy to slightly-less-cushy. I’m pretending that was one stage in the hardening-off process. When faced with obstacles it helps to wrap them in a thin veneer of positivity.


seedstarter5.jpg

Here you can see the little tags I made using toothpicks, sticker paper, and indelible ink. The other major downside to this kit is that it is too tall to work with my beloved heating mat. It’s been unseasonably warm so I think I’ll be fine without it.

Seed-Starting Mix

These are the ratios I prefer. If you don’t need a huge batch you can use this as a basis for choosing a store-bought seed-starting mix. Always read the label and look for an ingredients list. Most popular brands have chemical fertilizers added that are both unneccesary, but will defeat the purpose of growing organically. Instead, buy a basic mix and add in your own organic materials. I suggest adding a touch of vermicompost and watering your plants with a diluted sea-kelp mix. To be clear, seeds do not require any fertilizers until they produce their first set of “true leaves”. In basic terms this means the second set of leaves you will see. The first leaves that appear are called “seed leaves” and feed the seedling until the first “true leaves” appear.

  • 1 part peat or coir (Coir is a sustainable peat substitute made from coconut husks. Peat is mined from marshland, destroying natural habitats. When you can, use coir.)
  • 1 part perlite (popped volcanic ash that creates good drainage.)
  • 1 part vermiculite (water absorbing material made from the mineral mica)

Resources

Leave a comment
March 21, 2007
6 Comments
Propagation Reviews Seeds Spring

Lee Valley Windowsill Seed Starter

Last spring the world aligned in such a way leading to what I can only describe as a collapse in judgement wherein I purchased an actual device to start my seeds in. Firstly, I am a gluttonous gardener and had compiled a frightening collection of seeds to grow, and then Lee Valley had the gall to open a store in downtown Toronto, luring me into their crack den of nearly useless gadgetry and fancy door locks.

I broke down and purchased Lee Valley’s Styrofoam Windowsill Seed Starter last season knowing it would be problematic but having been sold on a few key features: it’s just the right size to fit my narrow old-school window ledge, and it’s self-watering. While you can get your seeds started in just about any old yoghurt container or milk carton, gardeners who are short on space will empathize with my dilemma, How do I grow the maximum number of seedlings in the tiniest amount of space? The answer, like most quandaries in life comes down to finding a system that presents the least number of problems… or growing less seeds. Not going to happen. In fact my list for this year has increased!

Here’s what I wrote last year:

    I pay $20 for Styrofoam so you don’t have to. [ed. Here's where I convince myself I am doing this all for you.] The first problem I noticed was no tagging system. I fixed that by fashioning tiny tags that don’t interfere with the dome using toothpicks, sticker paper, and an indelible marker. So far I don’t mind it as it fits perfectly on my narrow windowsill and I haven’t had to even think about watering for days. However, seedlings are only just starting to emerge and my suspicion is that the real challenge will come as they near transplant size.

The challenge I am referring to is the starter’s tiny cell size. Sure you can start a lot of seeds in a small space but what happens when those tiny seedlings start to grow? Lee Valley’s write-up on their website suggests using the starter for slow-growing plants such as broccoli and lettuce. Now, lettuce is a cold crop that does not require a start indoors, and I don’t know about you but I would hedge a bet that people with small indoor spaces often have small outdoor spaces. What percentage of those people intend to grow more broccoli in that small space than tomatoes? Just saying.

So here’s what my plants looked like about three-quarters of the way to planting time:

seedstarter1.jpg

    You can see that the plants are a bit leggy (tall and thin). This is the reality of windowsill growing. My window is south-facing and gets good light but it’s just not as ideal as an artificial lighting set-up.

seedstarter2.jpg

    A massive tangle of roots was created causing some stress on transplant. You know, what with all of the ripping and the tearing. Hint: Seedlings hate that.

seedstarter3.jpg

    Purple colour on the underside of tomato leaves is a sign of potassium deficiency. I transplanted these seedlings to recycled transplant containers shortly after taking this photo. The seedlings came around and lost that purple tinge once they had some room to spread their roots and take up nutrients. I watered regularly with sea kelp and added a bit of vermicompost to each pot at transplant time.

In the end is all of the fuss worth it? The advice I always give and stick by is to save your pennies and employ transplant-sized, reusable containers to get the job done. Starting with appropriately-sized containers that will take you from seed to transplant means less work in the long-run and prevents any desperate late-spring juggling acts to find enough light for all of your much-larger-than-anticipated seedlings. But of course if you’re like me and you’ve got bigger dreams than seed-starting space I would suggest saving your tomatoes for regular-sized containers and trying hot peppers, annual flowers, and just about anything else in the windowsill starter. Or if you’ve got to have those extra tomatoes you can do what I will probably do, give it a go now, panic later.

Leave a comment
March 14, 2007
16 Comments
Deep Thoughts Events Seasonal Seeds

It Has Begun… Seeds 2007

Have you started your seeds yet?

This has been the most common topic on everyone’s mind lately and the question I have been asked most in the last few weeks.

People should know by now that I’m a late start. I rarely get my seeds started on time… you know, for the experimenting and the learning and such. At this point I know what I can get away with on a blazing hot rooftop deck. My plants grow at a faster rate, often coming to harvest well before the first frost hits. And if all goes to plan at the community garden, I should have my long-season seedlings in earlier than the past few years. Of course by ‘plan’ I do not mean that I have crafted or devised charts, lists, or diagrams laying out what I will grow and where I will grow it. I mean that I have pondered vague abstract ideas of where and how I will be gardening. I am not a garden planner. It is not my style. I know there will be food, and I know it will span the seasons with early spring plantings of greens, peas, and other cool season plants; I know I will slowly add in new plants as their time approaches; I know that there will definitely be tomatoes (lots and lots), I just haven’t decided on a list of definitive varieties to grow.

I do know that I’ve got more ideas stored up in my brain this year than ever before — you can thank the seed catalogues for that with their endless assortment of fascinating varieties. I like a good story behind a variety. Give me a good story, and tack ‘rare’ to the end and I’m all over that plant like aphids on your mama’s nasturtiums.

“This unattractive edible with a flavour and texture not unlike a dry piece of cardboard was given to western Ontario Amish settlers in 1845 by the Huron nation. Rare heirloom.”

Yes! Gotta have it! I’ll take two packs!

By now I have gone through my seed catalogue collection and checked off just about everything on every page like a rabid animal. I’ve been thinking that a good way to narrow it down would be to play the catalogue game we played in childhood whenever the Consumers Distributing catalogue arrived. In this game of fantasy you could have any single item from each page, but only one thing. The game was usually played with a friend and each took turns choosing first, alternating back and forth. I’m not really sure what the game was intended to be about since no one actually GOT anything from the catalogue. I’m not even sure where the competition lay but it seemed to be mostly about choosing the most expensive jewelry and bragging about how you’d just resell that ugly thing later, pocket the dough, and buy yourself a small robot or kickin’ video game system. My point behind this story being not to fantasy choose the most expensive seeds to be resold for… something worth a big five bucks, but to play the game as a way to narrow my choices down per page and perhaps trade off growing certain coveted varieties with friends.

seeds_march.jpg

While I haven’t begun any real planning, I have begun to buy seeds. Here are my meager aquisitions thusfar. I am planning to begin the bulk of my buying and trading this weekend at the Toronto Seedy Saturday and then finish off with online purchases.

Clockwise from top right: 1. Tags from Amy whose husband procures these tags meant for another purpose through his work. They can be stuck upright next to a seedling or wrapped around a plant with thick stems. 2. Micro Greens ‘Spicy Mix’, ‘Burgundy’ Amaranth, and ‘Brightest Brilliant Rainbow’ Quinoa from Botanical Interests. I can get the ‘Spicy Mix’ Greens started as an indoor crop at anytime. 3. Melokhiya/Mazzocchi an Egyptian green used like okra to thicken broths. 4. A massive packet of variegated radicchio seeds from Italy. What can I say, it was an impulse buy made predominantly around the idea that I’d be in radicchio until kingdom come.

Seedy Saturday 2007

10-3 pm
Scadding Court Community Centre 707 Dundas St. W (at Bathurst)

If you’re in the Toronto area this Saturday don’t miss the best garden event this spring, Seedy Saturday. If you do make it out please stop by the You Grow Girl table where I will be selling and signing copies of the book, gardening tees and aprons (I’ll be unveiling some new designs of both too!), and trading off some of my extra seeds.

Leave a comment
March 2, 2007
2 Comments
Bulbs Flowers Gardening 101 Seasonal

Your Questions Answered: Forgotten Fall Bulbs

Question: I bought several cheap bags of daffodils and tulips on clearance this past December but didn’t get them into the ground on time. Spring is right around the corner, can I still plant them?

Don’t toss those bulbs! Despite all the fuss about proper planting times, most bulbs are hardy little packages that can be saved with some minor intervention. Heaps of bulbs are hard on the wallet — off-season specials are a smart way to create an endless parade of spring blooms on the cheap. Of course, some bulbs are on sale for a reason, so choose firm, plump bulbs and leave shriveled or moldy bulbs at the store.

Dutch bulbs such as daffodils and tulips require some chill time before spring planting. Daffodils require approximately 12-16 weeks, while tulips call for a lengthy 14-20 weeks. Stash your bulbs bare inside mesh or paper bags and pop them into your refrigerator’s crisper drawer. Keep them away from apples or other ripe fruit since the ethylene gas they emit can cause your bulbs to rot. Take a peek every once and a while to be sure they haven’t mummified in the bag — good ventilation is key. Don’t freak out if they start to grow gnarly sprouts — a living bulb is a good bulb! And if they do nothing: that’s okay too.

To give your bulbs an added edge, try pre-planting them into containers of potting soil. Chill in an unheated garage, cold cellar, or shed and water them now and then to help form roots right in the pot.

Try and wait until the minimum chill time has passed before planting your bulbs out in the garden. Needless to say, you stand nothing to lose if they have to go outside early. Most bulbs won’t survive a year in regular storage so better late than never. Bloom time is bound to be off schedule this year, or won’t happen at all. No worries, your plants will reschedule themselves and produce heaps of flowers next spring.

Leave a comment
February 28, 2007
5 Comments
Art/Craft Houseplants Projects Seasonal

Windowsill Cozy

Crocheted Windowsill Cozy

Here’s the follow-up to last week’s Toasty Pot Coaster project.

This windowsill warmer is easily crocheted much like coaster using double crochets and shell stitches as a decorative edge. Start by measuring the width and depth of your windowsill. Make chains until the width matches the width of your sill. Double crochet into each chain, making a turning chain at the end of the row (3 chains). Turn the piece around and continue double crocheting rows until your cozy is as deep as your windowsill. Shell stitch into one side to make a frilly edge that sits just over the front of the sill.

Crocheted Windowsill Cozy

I made my cozy using a partial ball of thick and rough wool that was too scratchy to wear against bare skin. The thickness of the wool has really made an improvement, warming the plants up from the bottom. My partner Davin who happens to sit next to the window claims that it has blocked some of the chill that sneaks in through the lower part of the sill as well.

Crocheted Windowsill Cozy

Online Tutorials

Leave a comment