Germination Tray

Just dropping a quick line to show our makeshift germination "heating pad".  It's nothing fancy, but I wanted to show what a little creativity will do to get plants sprouting for Spring.  For now, this will do, but ideally we would have a couple of these Germination Stations with Heating Mat:

What does "Succession Planting" mean?

I just received this great question in my inbox this morning:

"Succession planting...Does that mean that I sew seeds into the same cells that had the same variety in them before?  I've googled it and it still doesn't make very much sense.

thx! M"


I like this definition of succession planting found on Wikipedia:

Same crop, successive plantings: Several smaller plantings are made at timed intervals, rather than all at once. The plants mature at staggered dates, establishing a continuous harvest over an extended period. Lettuce and other salad greens are common crops for this approach.

So "M," in response to your question:

The germination time varies from plant to plant, and the back of your seed packet will usually indicate the time to germination.  For seeds with a longer germination period (like the lavender we planted this weekend) smaller groups over a couple of weeks is a good way to go so that you don't wait 3-4 weeks to find out they didn't take.  For a short germination period, once may work best.

We don't have a ton of space so we sometimes plant in the same cells 1 to 2 weeks later.  Ideally you would start with fresh pods/cells, in fresh trays, with fresh dirt.  This is because when the germination tray is kept at 70ish degrees it can start to grow a fungus that will rot seeds before they have a chance to sprout.

Hope that helps ya "M"!

Seed Starting Soil

Zac made soil this weekend to start the Lavender and Rosemary seeds. While we could just purchase a bag of seed starting mix, we have found that it is much less expensive and we have much more control over our soil if we mix it ourselves.  Zac combined Vermiculite, Topsoil/Compost Mix, and Peat Moss.  All of these were available locally at Lowes.

The end result should be a rich, pliable mix that won't clump together.

From here, you can test the PH and NPK (N-itrogen / P-hosphorous / Potassium =K).  Potassium gets a 'k' because that's its symbol on the periodic table.  You will need to look and see what kind of food and PH level your plants like the best.  Once you know your plant's preference, you can use this basic mix to build a specific "dirt cocktail."  We use this simple soil test kit to test our soil.

Snow:: Again

We woke up this morning to another snow day.  I'm thankful for the dying Begonias I rescued from our garden at the end of summer.  They are absolutely thriving in our windowsil now.   I think they are the loveliest shade of summer against the winter world.

Spring 2010 Planting Schedule

This weekend is one we have been looking forward to all winter. Why?

This weekend, Febuary 6 & 7, is roughly 10 weeks from the average last frost in our part of Oklahoma, which means, it's the perfect time to begin planting our garden seeds indoors!

For Zac and I, this means we will plant:

February 6 (10 weeks out)
Rosemary
Lavender (maybe I can get it to take this year crossing fingers)

February 20 (8 weeks out)
Hot Peppers
Tomatoes
Rosemary - succession planting (keep sewing a few seeds each week in case first batch doesn't make it)
Lavender - succession planting

March 6 (6 weeks out)
Thyme
Spinach OUTSIDE
Hot Peppers - succession planting
Tomatoes - succession planting

March 20 (4 weeks out)
Thyme - succession planting
Spinach OUTSIDE - succession planting

March 27 (3 weeks out)
Sweet Peas OUTSIDE
Romaine OUTSIDE

April 10 (1 week from average last frost)
Sweet Peas OUTSIDE - succession planting
Romaine OUTSIDE - succession planting

April 17 (assuming we are frost free and the forecast looks good)
Basil OUTSIDE
Chives OUTSIDE
Cucumbers OUTSIDE
Green Onions OUTSIDE
Parsley OUTSIDE
Marigolds OUTSIDE (good to plant in a garden for plant pollination)
Sunflowers OUTSIDE
***These will be succession planted too

We are pretty excited about it!

It's time to start this thing!

We all started out eating what we put before us with no thought how it got there. Only until around 4 years ago did we, Zac and Abbey start to wonder why one piece of meat costs more than another. I always assumed that food preparation was a strict set of unbreakable rules that must be followed, or soppy vegetables would ensue. Over time, and through much experimentation, we have discovered that it is not so. The end product, food, is best understood by getting to know the raw product...plants and animals (we haven't forgotten you vegans...just not right now).

We invite you to join us on this adventure where we will catalogue our successes/failures/excitement/ambivalence in true-to-life culinary DIY in our itty bitty garden.