Earthly Garden

Welcome to Part 3 of our series on seed starting! When your seeds sprout, they’ll have one set of leaves. These leaves won’t look anything like the leaves on a full grown plant. They are there to provide nourishment to the new seedling, much like the yolk of an egg provides nourishment to the embryo it holds. Once the seedling begins developing mature leaves, these “baby” leaves will shrivel away. When your seedlings have at least one set of mature leaves, it’s time to transplant. You can buy small pots for this, or use paper or plastic drinking cups. I like to use styrofoam coffee cups. They are lightweight, provide plenty of space for the seeding’s root system to grow, and fit nicely on windowsills and ledges. Use a good quality potting soil and don’t forget to poke a few holes into the bottom for drainage. A pencil does this nicely. Give your transplants lots of light and air circulation and make sure they don’t dry out. Once they’ve got their second set of leaves, it’s time for the final stage of seed starting-hardening off and planting outdoors! We’ll cover that tomorrow and then start a series on specific vegetables and their needs.

gardens, gardening, seed starting, seedlings, transplanting seedlings

Yesterday we talked about getting seeds started. Today let’s talk about what to do once your seeds have germinated!

As soon as you see they’ve sprouted, remove any cover. Air circulation is critical for young seedlings. Without it they are very vulnerable to
a disease called “damping off”. It’s a fungal issue that causes the base of the seedling to rot, causing it to fall over. This can be prevented by good air circulation and careful watering. One of the biggest causes of seedling failure is overwatering!

You’ll also want to move your seedlings to a sunny window. Seedings need lots of light or they will get leggy. The term refers to the appearance of light starved seedlings-their stems grow much too long in an attempt to reach more light. With some plants, such as tomatoes, you can simply plant them horizontally when it’s time to transplant them outside-roots will form along the stem. But for most plants, leggy seedings won’t thrive.

Another thing seedlings need is strength. To promote strong, sturdy stems (crucial for any plant destined to be laden with fruits, like vegetable plants)
set a fan on low and allow it to blow across the seedlings. Be sure to do this in a warm place and only on low. You’re looking for a gentle breeze, not a stiff wind.

Once your seedlings have at least one set of adult leaves, it’s time to transplant to individual pots. More on that tomorrow!

gardening, gardens, seed starting, gardening planning, seedlings, transplanting seedings

Mornin’ earthly gardeners! I thought I’d share a photo of my little Mexican lime tree with you. A friend says it’s the same as the “key lime.” Last year it bloomed off and on all spring and summer, and actually made a handful of fruit. What fun! It sits on a semi-shaded porch, and was doing great until we got a lot of ice last winter. I thought it was dead, but it’s not–it’s coming back! I’m always amazed at the rejuvenation power of plants.

It’s been raining profusely here off and on for the past week or so, and the garden is waterlogged. I’m really anxious to get these seedlings out of the office and into the ground. They aren’t quite ready, but I figure IF the sun comes out, they’ll catch up eventually. That’s the hope, anyway.

I hope some of you others are closer to spring. I haven’t heard the weather reports from other parts of the country in a few days, but I expect some of you are still chillin’. Now is the time to pore over those garden seed catalogs (if you still do the paper thang) or sit and browse through all the online garden seed suppliers.

If you haven’t started seedlings yet, there’s still time. My new idea is to set out a few at a time, spaced a few days apart. I don’t really have room for all these seedlings, so some will have to go into containers. Speaking of containers, the tomatoes in the EarthBox are doing fabulously, as are the two remaining tomato plants out in the raised beds.

Next week, I’ll talk about using raised beds in your garden, and tell you how you can build an easy, fast, almost instant garden anywhere! Really! So until then, do a Google for “small raised bed gardens” and get some ideas. And have a good weekend…

Until then, dig it!

bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 Bobbi A. Chukran. All rights to photos and text reserved.

raised bed gardening, rain, tomatoes, small space gardens, easy gardens

I was horrified when I read a news item yesterday that links the use of chemicals in our environment to obesity. It seems that scientists have found a link between certain chemicals and obesity. If so, then we’re all doomed. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. I’ve felt for quite some time that chemicals, pesticides and such in our environment was bad news, and cause many of the diseases and health problems that we all face these days. I myself have lingering health problems as a result of a chemical exposure in my home years ago–a supposedly “natural” product that was anything but natural.

This news story has links to the Washington Tribune and the Columbia Tribune, where the story was first reported. And it’s not just the chemicals in food that are problematic; chemicals in other things, such as plastics, are also blamed for numerous maladies.

I know how hard it is to avoid plastics, but we can avoid chemicals in our foods. Grow organic, use organic seeds if at all possible (I’ll be talking about that in a future blog post), buy and eat organic produce, and suggest to your favorite restaurants that they also buy and use organic foods. Every little bit helps!

dig it!

bobbi c.
Copyright ©2007 by Bobbi A. Chukran

organic foods, obesity caused by chemicals, organic seeds, organic produce, chemicals in plastics

Hi all,

We’ve had a really cold winter here, and I keep hearing from friends in other parts of the country that it’s super cold there, too. Since we can plant fairly early here in Texas, I sometimes forget that there are some who can’t get out into the garden until what we consider late spring/early summer. LOL. So that’s why I’m also going to be blogging about container gardens, and indoor plants that you can grow on a sunny windowsill. (Thanks for all the feedback I got yesterday. I LOVE hearing from readers!)

One thing I did yesterday was fill up an old pot with some good potting soil, and sprinkle a package of sweet basil seeds on top. I covered those with 1/4″ more seed starting mix (so it would be fluffy) and watered it well. The seeds should sprout within a week or so. This can stay in a sunny windowsill until the plants get taller, then I might transplant them into larger pots, or out into the garden beds. Basil is an herb that almost everyone enjoys, I think, and the small seedlings can be harvested with scissors and used in a salad, or stir fry.

So if you’re suffering from spring fever like I am, find a small pot, some soil, and a packet of seeds (organic is best). Within a month or so, you should have some basil for your supper!

Don’t forget to sub to this blog so you don’t miss any exciting gardening adventures!

dig it!

bobbi c.
Copyright ©2005-2007 Bobbi A. Chukran

container gardens, indoor plants, garden blog, organic seeds, basil