February 15, 2008
7 Comments
Gardening 101 Seeds Spring

Seed Starting and Springing Ahead

Photo by Davin Risk

Many of us in the Northern Hemisphere are rapidly approaching that last straw part of winter, looking for a little sun and some springtime cheer to warm our hearts, minds and bodies. When you can’t take another minute of winter it’s time to start talking about seed-starting! When I’m looking toward spring I think about the seeds I will start indoors but I also like to focus on the earliest crops, seeds like peas, cilantro, lettuces, and spinach that can be started outside as soon as the ground thaws. If you’re on the west coast you can probably start planting peas very, very soon if not already. If you’re in Florida you were still eating fresh peas off the vine a month or two ago. If you’re in the northeast like me, you can start thinking about the peas you’re going to grow. Someday. In the future.

There’s years of information on this site and I know it can be hard to find, so I’ve put together a list of seed-starting articles and posts that will give your mind and spirit a jump start into spring.

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February 14, 2008
10 Comments
Gardening 101 Seeds Spring

Mix Up Your Own Seed Starting Mix

Photo by Gayla Trail

I posted this recipe a year ago but it is buried in a larger post and I decided it would be better-accessed if it had its own place. Making your own mix is SUPER easy and worth the small effort if you are growing a lot of seedlings.

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 unnecessary and 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)
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April 13, 2007
35 Comments
Gardening 101 Projects Propagation Seeds

Toilet Roll Seed-Starter

Through the magic of online photo-sharing I have been catching a peak at little seedlings coming up all over the Northern Hemisphere. I’ve also been enjoying the smell of tomato plants sprouting fresh leaves right in my own home grow-op. The promise of spring smells good! And yet one thing disturbs me — ya’ll are too in love with those horrible peat pellets! Because I am so eager to get you off that dope I’ve come up with another seed-starting option that is mega-cheap and easy.

It’s so simple I almost feel like I’m talking down to you by providing directions. Simply get yourself a bag of seed-starting mix or mix up a batch yourself. I purchased a 10L bag for $3.99 CDN at my friendly local hardware store. I have seen seed-starting soil for a lower price however this mix is organic, chemical-free, and features compost and “sustainably harvested peat”. [Note: I am not listing the product because while I like it I am still looking into what "sustainably harvested peat" really means.] Regardless, 10L is more than enough to tackle Phase One of my frighteningly large and ever-growing list of seeds and should take me straight through to upsizing my wee seedlings from the starter and into transplant containers. If you’ve got too much save it for next year or use it to root cuttings. The fact of the matter is that you will need to replant into larger containers at some point in the seed-starting process regardless of whether or not you start in those horrible peat pellets or not so you might as well just save the dough, buy a bag, and forego the pellets altogether.

Next, save yourself some toilet rolls. Start a week or two ahead and you’ll have plenty in time. Ask your neighbours and friends! They will not assume that this gardening thing has driven you mad.

toiletroll1.jpg

With a pair of scissors, cut 1/4″ wide strips all around one end of the toilet roll tube. This is the same method used to wrap a bottle of wine or a poster.

toiletroll2.jpg

Fold each strip down. The strips should start to overlap each other creating a bottom that will hold soil.

toiletroll3.jpg

Fill the tube with pre-moistened soil, tap lightly or push the soil down, and add more until there is about a 1/2″ or so left at the top of the roll.

toiletroll4.jpg

Sow one seed per roll. Watch the sides of the tube for dryness and keep that soil moist!

You’ll need to transplant your tubes into larger containers about 2-4 weeks after your seeds have germinated. The best part is that you don’t have to remove the toilet roll or touch any delicate seedling roots. Just plop the entire thing into a larger container of soil (think 4″ transplant pot). The toilet roll with breakdown into the soil and be overcome by little plant roots in no time.

And since we’re on the topic of toilet rolls, start saving yours now so you’ll be stocked up when it comes time to plant your tomato seedlings out. I am yet to find anything better than a lowly loo roll to protect seedlings from cut worms.

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April 3, 2007
12 Comments
Art/Craft Projects Seeds

Seed-Starting Tags/Chart

goldtopchart1.jpg

As per usual I did not read instructions and jumped headfirst into converting Goldtop’s cute Seed-Starting Chart into little seedling pot tags. Turns out they are great for either purpose.

goldtopchart2.jpg

I printed mine on cardstock, cut them out, and attached to tongue depressors. I did not have anything important to write in the notes section so I wrote a mantra for my tomato in hopes that it will manifest itself into a successful tomato plant. “I am a very delicious tomato. Someday in the future, I will taste great on a sandwich.” I have asked it to repeat these lines 5 times each morning while looking in a mirror. Should do the trick, right?

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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

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