This year I decided I was going try to grow some vegetables from seed. I went to the store, looked at their selection, and bought two--spinach, which is a cool weather plant I could do right away, and Swiss chard for the warmer weather. Driving home I envisioned delicious bowls of greens freshly-picked from my patch in the back yard.
In this area, spinach seeds can be planted outside right after the first frost, which should be in mid-March. However, this year the cold weather wouldn't go away; on the first day of spring the temperature barely made it to freezing, and a little over a week later we had a foot of snow on the ground. Since Mother Nature wasn't cooperating I decided to start the seeds inside.
I started with a cardboard pulp egg carton. First I cut off the lid, then filled the cups almost to the top with potting soil, added three spinach seeds to each cup, and covered the seeds with a light layer of soil. I placed the bottom of the carton into the lid (which acted as a support) and watered the soil until the cardboard was soggy. Next, I set the carton on a baking sheet and slid the whole thing into a plastic bag to create a "greenhouse". The makeshift greenhouse went on the east-facing window seat in the kitchen.
According to the packet, I could expect the seeds to germinate in 8-10 days. However, at the end of that period I only had two straggly sprouts, but since the weather still wasn't cooperating and it was too cold to plant things outside I took the plastic bag off and waited a couple more days. The extra time allowed a few more seeds to develop, so half the cups contained seedlings.
This week the nighttime temperatures finally rose above freezing; it was time to plant outside!
This afternoon I turned a section of the garden soil over, then cut the egg carton cups apart and planted them (even the empty ones--I'm quite the optimist) directly into the ground and watered the area well. The cardboard is biodegradable and should quickly fall apart. I hope it works. The packet of seeds was $1.35, though, so if it doesn't at least I'm not out a lot of money.
Five years ago today: New Thing #85--For The Birds
I did the same thing with my lemon seeds and they've spouted. I'm so excited. I didn't know you could stick the whole thing into the ground. You're going to have such a fabulous garden.
ReplyDeleteI once grew a citrus tree (mine was grapefruit). However, it was a lot of work as it had to be moved in each year when the weather got cold.
DeleteOur ground is wat too cold, still. Spring will happen, and we all will have spinach and chard.
ReplyDeleteYou have a green thumb for sure! It's also time to buy approved weed killer!
ReplyDeleteThe last few years we've passed on using weed killer on the yard. It shows :-)
DeleteI am not much of a gardener but, surprisingly, all my kids are, so I get to watch their gardens grow and enjoy some of their bounty. You sound like you know what you are doing and your garden will be a good one.
ReplyDeleteI'm more of a gardener wannabe; I can Google information with the best of them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the critters get everything. I like trying, though.
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