April 14, 2011 Seeding
Purchasing all of the seeds that I would need took a few stops. I could have bought all of the organic seeds on line but I would have been defeating buying local. So I set out to the various local garden centers. Interestingly enough they all had “some” organic seeds but not everything that I felt would make for a complete garden. So, what I could not find organic I bought seeds that had been recommended.
I gathered up all of the flats and small planting containers, that I had left over from last year and bought a few additional ones. I also bough domes to create little greenhouses.. I love Lee Valley
Never having done this before I tried 4 different types…
1. Pellets of coconut hair that expand to 2” little pots to house the seeds… These can be planted directly into the garden without transplanting. The nice thing about these little pots, are that they are made from a renewable resource. (But still imported from afar… another struggle).
2. 4” pots for the more substantial plants… I did the tomatoes, peppers, beans and squash in them.
3. smaller deep pots for the root vegetables like carrots and beets
4. newspaper pots that I made using this cool little wooden tool. Again the seedling can be planted right in the paper pot
I invited over my parents that are 80 years old; my niece Janet and her daughter Paige; and my grandson Anthony… We began with mixing our own compost and some garden soil. I didn’t consider the amount of space that 17 flats would take. I can tell you that my kitchen was full!
As they all seeded, I took pictures to document the moments. There was so much laughter as they floor got muddier and talk of how great it was going to be to watch the seedlings sprout.
Within 2 days tiny little sprouts had begun…. This was it… Living things that I was now responsible for….
Anthony, Janet and Paige have visited to watch the progress. The kids absolutely were in awe of these tiny seedlings while they discussed with pride which ones they had planted. My parents came over 3 days and took care of the watering the delicate seedlings while I was away.
It seems that each person coming to the house immediately gravitates over to see how the plants are doing…. What a wonderful family and community event!
I feel blessed..