There are only 18 days until Spring has officially sprung.  My seedlings seem to be well aware of this fact and are busy outgrowing their designated space in my kitchen.  This year I started out my seeds in a mini-greenhouse which was amazing.  I did not have any idea seeds could germinate that fast.  Next year, I plan on waiting until later February to start my seeds since I have now had the problem of them outgrowing being inside, but it is still too cold for them outside.  Due to this, I have had to transplant them to larger containers and then will have to do it again when the weather is warmer.  Transplanting is tough on your plants and a delicate process, so the fewer times you do this, the better.  

I keep all of our soil outside in the shed so when I am going to transplant into a pot, I fill a ceramic planter with the dirt I need.  Although from what I have read ceramic planters aren’t the best for long term use (they absorb the water out of the soil), they were only 99 cents at the local feed store.  Since both the soil and the pot are very cold from being outside, I place them in the oven for about 15 minutes on the warm setting.  Make sure you don’t overheat the soil, hot soil wouldn’t be good for the young roots either.  After the soil is warmed, I dig down until there is only a few layers of soil between the pot and where the roots will be.  Removing the seedling from the original pot is a very gentle process. You want to make sure you don’t disturb the roots or break off any part of the seedling to ensure successful transplanting.

As you can see from the picture, this has more than outgrown it’s little piece of soil sponge (they are what came with the particular brand of greenhouse I purchased).  I very carefully pushed up on the sponge from the bottom to remove it from the container.  I then carefully place it in the ceramic pot and cover with the warm soil.  I then water thoroughly.  The ceramic pots I bought have drainage holes, so the roots won’t get rotten from too much water.  So far this method has been very successful.  As you can see, I am running out of room for all these seedlings!

I use leftover wine corks as markers for which seedlings are what so I don’t get them confused.  I also made a legend for the greenhouse to keep those organized as well.

The next steps are to place the lettuce in the hanger planter I have since they will live on the front porch, but I am hoping the weather will warm up before I have to do that.  I also have started the majority of my seeds indoors (including ones that recommended starting outside, not inside) just to see what would happen (don’t press the little red button never worked well for me).  I am interested to see if they will survive the final transplanting to outside.

Happy transplanting!  Until next time…

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Truth be told, I have not had much luck starting seeds indoors. It could be because whenever I got the idea to buy a "complete" mini greenhouse in a 24" X 36" planting tray, I just poured water on the dirt disks, threw the seeds in them about 2" too deep, lost the tags that went with each seed (which never really mattered because only 1% of them made it to sunlight), and killed the seeds that finally germinated because I just put them straight outside in my planting pots I had-not allowing them to 'harden off.' So, after spending time in botany prison researching correctly how to plant indoor seeds, I feel that I am going to be wildly successful this time around. Besides, the only vegetables and flowers you can typically buy that are ready-to-plant plants are the run of the mill standard varieties. Boring. After purchasing and receiving my seeds for 2013, I went through them all and categorized when I need to start each one. I wrote the date on each packet (according to the directions on the packet) when to start indoors by checking when my frost-free date is for my location and counting back however many weeks to sow indoors. After I completed that, I wanted to be prepared for all my seedlings and a place to start them all. I started researching best methods for starting seeds indoors and came across the following site put out by the University of Minnesota's horticulture extension:

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/m1245.html

Great article about starting seeds indoors. In my set-up, I used this as my template to follow and will show you my step by step process that I took to make a complete indoor greenhouse ready for indoor planting.

Supplies

48" long shelving unit with 5 shelves $42

Small chain link $2.97

4 - 48" long fluorescent shop lights (for 2 T8 lights bulbs 32 watt) meant
to hang with chain $9.99 each

4 light bulbs that fit the shop lights in DAYLIGHT $7.98 each (pack of 2)

4 light bulbs that fit the shop light in COOL WHITE $7.98 each (pack of 2)

Needle nose pliers

8 standard black planting trays $1 each

8 Medium/small S hooks $1.99 pack of 8

Drill with drill bit (bit a little larger than the S hook to hang from)

Potting Mix $3.45 each

2 Spray bottles $1.99 each

Liquid or powder fertilizer $4.97

Segmented planting trays (6 spots) $.45

Plug-in 24 hour timer $6.97

Heating blanket or gardening heating mat $15 for heating mat - I had an unused
heated blanket, therefore it was free.

Directions

1. Put together shelving unit. My husband put the shelves upside down so that the side with a lip would be where your planting trays sit.

2. On both ends of the shelving unit, each shelf needs a hole drilled in it for the S hook to go in to. Shelving units have holes throughout the ends of them to hang things from, so in order to get the S hook in, find a hole in the center of each shelf end. Stick the S hook through it to make sure it fits and mark where the end of the S hook is and drill a hole there for the S hook to hang from. See pictures for clarification.

3. Take your lights out of boxes (some come with chains but in case they don't you'll have extra) and locate the pre-drilled holes on the ends to hang with chain. Attach chain to S hook. Leave 2-4" above black planting trays with segmented trays also or 4" pots inside. Remove the chain-link with the pliers and leave the link open. Put the open hooked end into the hanging holes on the light fixture and do so for the other side as well. The first light is now hung. Do the other 3 lights as the first.

4. Put 1 daylight light bulb and 1 cool white light bulb in all 4 light fixtures.

5. Plug all electrical cords for the lights into a multiple plug in. Plug the multiple plug-in into the timer and set the hours you want to have your lights on the seeds. Recommended 12-14 hours a day. I set mine from 7am-9pm the lights will be on. Nice to have the automatic timer so you can set it and forget it.

6. Fold the heating blanket a little larger than the base of the shelving unit. Put the blanket or heating mat under the base. See pictures for clarification. Plug the blanket into the outlet above the outlet that is being used for the timer. It is important to leave the heating source on constant even when the lights are out. If using a blanket, keep on the lowest setting and if you can't feel it, move the temp setting up from there. Not too warm just warm to the touch.

7. Put your potting soil, fertilizer, trays, and water bottles (be sure to label one that will have fertilizer in it) on top of shelving unit until ready for use. It is also a good idea to take the temp of the potting mix after the heating pad/blanket has stabilized. That way you can plant to the temp recommended on the seed packet. For example, melons like warm soil in order to germinate.

8. Fertilize 1/4 ratio what you should for regular plants. Mix with water. Fertilize the seeds that need it.

9. Be sure the seeds that benefit from bottom heat are closest to the bottom (ie tomatoes). Or move the heating blanket/pad directly under the trays to maximize the heat on the lowest setting. Try to group the plants that need fertilizer in the same area so when you spray them with the fertilizer water bottle you aren't getting it on others that are not supposed to have it. You can also hang clear plastic around the shelving unit if you want your temps to be higher inside but a minimum of 65 degrees F is sufficient for most indoors seedlings. And lastly, do not put your plants by the window! Night time temps are so cold in March/April that it can be hard on seedlings.

And there you go! Your inexpensive, re-usable, lighted indoor plant stand!

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I’m getting started on my garden by working on garden boxes. This one is 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. All of my previous garden boxes are 4x4, but this one is specifically for a group of blueberry bushes and needs to be bigger. I'm building it out of 2x8" lumber and fastening the corners together with coated deck screws. I'm using untreated lumber to prevent the "treatment" from leeching into the soil in which I'm growing our food.

Garden Box

Once the box is built I lug it out to the area I'll be expanding our garden into. This is normally the simple part: Just tack some weed cloth on the bottom and flop it down on top of the grass. But we live on a mountain and have to do things a bit differently. To prevent all the special soil from washing out of the box in a heavy rain (which we get often here) I have to dig the box down into the dirt to level it up

I start by going around the outside of the box with a pick to mark the location. Then I use the broad blade of the pick axe to dig a trench into which the rails of the box will sit. I can set the box in place every now and then, check it with a level and know where I need to dig more out.

Here I'm almost done, I just need to remove the rest of the grass and dirt from inside the box, use some of it to build up around the downhill side and toss the rest into the garden cart to be hauled away. I dig in the upper side, build up the lower side. If I were to dig it in completely the high corner would need to be dug in about 16" deep. That’s just silly.

As it is I'll need to add a second run of lumber along the upper two sides to make sure water running down the hill won't wash out my fancy dirt and fill the box with grass, leaves and mud.

 Over the next couple of weeks I need to build another 4x8 box and 10 more 4x4 boxes. We're going to be raising produce for selling at the local farmer's market this year; that's one of the way's I'm replacing the lost income from flat-lined furniture sales.

Seed Starting

For the past couple of weeks I’ve also been starting seedlings for the crops that will go out earliest. Of course I still have lettuce, spinach, chard, onions, garlic and carrots in the garden that I’ve been harvesting all winter long because of the nifty hoop houses I built to go over the beds. But I’ve talked about those before.

I started my spring seed run by ordering good quality seed for the plants I want to be growing this year. This company put the names in a strange place, so I write the contents on the flap edge where they will be easily visible as I check the order in.

I keep my seed packets in a sealed plastic bin, which I keep in the refrigerator in my office. When I get products packed with desiccant packets I toss those in the bin too – this helps keep the moisture down. The cool temperature keeps the seed viable longer. Some claim that it also simulates winter and helps the seed decide that it’s spring when it is placed into nice warm soil. Maybe.

I use peat pellets as a seed starting medium, mostly because they fit into my mini greenhouse and give the seeds a kick-start on germination. I call it The Germinator. The pellets come as hard packed pucks, to make them usable they need to be soaked in water so they expand. This can be done in the greenhouse – if something else isn’t already in there. In this case something else is in there so I’ll hydrate the pellets in baking dishes and transfer them to the green house later.

It’s amazing how much water these things soak up, and how much they expand.

Once expanded the pellets can be moved to the greenhouse tray. I open up the top of the mesh that holds the pellet together if I’m going to plant more than one seed per pellet. A lot of things will get planted two (or three) to a pellet, then when I transplant them to small pots I’ll divide the pellet. The mesh casing is supposed to be biodegradable, but it’s not – at least not in a two year period – so whether I will transplant to a pot or directly into the garden I strip the mesh off as I plant.

To keep track of what’s what I make little flags out of paperclips and masking tape; straighten one turn of the clip, write the label on the tape, cut it off the roll and wrap the tape around the clip.

It’s a simple, cheap, reusable system of identifying what was planted in each pellet. I don’t put one in each pellet though, just enough to delineate the blocks of seeds. The Germinator goes on top of the fridge (it’s warm there) because sunlight is not needed to germinate.

But once they sprout I move the pellets into plastic or aluminum pans (8x8 aluminum cake pans work great, don’t rust and are super-cheap at a Dollar Store) and set them into a window where they will get some sunshine. Don’t let them get too hot; 75° to 80° is tops for most seedlings. But lots of light prevents them from getting “leggy” and being difficult to manage.

Once the sprouts get some size to them I move them either to the garden (if they’re cold tolerant) or to pots. If pots, I also take them outside for a while each day to “harden them off” so that when it’s time to put them in the garden they will be accustomed to full sunshine. I use the Grit Garden Planner software on Square Foot Garden mode to plan my garden. This has very handy notes on planting directions, companion plants and of course a great bar-graph schedule of what plants need to be started when and when to harvest them. It will even send you reminders via e-mail of what plants in your garden plan need special attention. It’s a great tool for a rookie like me, but I suspect even pros will enjoy the convenience it offers. Want to see my garden plan for this year? Click: 2012 Garden Plan 

One unique project at the Greenbank Farm Training Center this year was growing seed for the retail market. Our farm manager landed a contract with High Mowing Organic Seeds to grow 35-50 pounds of Golden Frill Mustard.  We were to take this specialty green that is typically harvested somewhere between 21 to 45 days and see it through its entire lifecycle. From seed to tender green to bolting plant to full, mature seedpods.  We watched this annual give its best at the reproduction cycle.

We stared in spring. High Mowing Organic Seeds sent us a packet of seeds that we started in cell trays in our greenhouse. At three weeks, a time when Golden Frill Mustard is perfect as a baby salad green, we transplanted the seedlings outdoors. We put three hundred plants in each one hundred foot bed and planted five beds. This put us at roughly 1,500 plants. That is a lot of mustard!

It was an easy crop to forget about.  We weeded and irrigated the mustard of course, but the vegetables we were growing for our CSA stole our attention.  As summer progressed the plants began to bolt, one at a time like popcorn popping in a pan. Suddenly all of the small ruffled greens that were so cute had shot up over our heads, creating a forest of flowering mustard plants. Enormous tubers that looked like ugly kohlrabi showed above the surface. One could see how much energy the plant was putting into setting flowers.

This was bee heaven. A hum of buzzing echoed throughout the mustard square, and when the yellow flowers gave way to long skinny seedpods, the bird moved in.  They wanted what we wanted: ripe, mature seed. Flash tape decorated the t-posts that we put up to help support the voluminous plants, a scarecrow was erected, and a few rocks were thrown to try to keep away the birds as the seed became more and more ripe.

As we inched into fall, our mustard crop became more of a priority. Here was a crop that we had been growing all season long. We had a contract to fulfill, and a good portion of income riding on the success of this seed. Every other day, we checked the maturity of the plants. Were the seeds green or brown?  Were the pods beginning to burst open at the slightest touch?  We watched the weather, as the fall was becoming rainy and wet.   We consulted our friends at the Organic Seed Alliance.  With more bad weather on the horizon, we pulled the plants early with only ten percent of the seed pods filled with ripe seed.  No worries though, several sources told us our crop would continue to ripen indoors.  We cut the plants low to the ground, so that the plants would send the last of its energy up to the pods.  It was final attempt at completing its reproductive cycle.

We moved our 1,500 plants to an attic barn to let them dry for thee more weeks. Then, we had two long days of inside work. First, we stripped the pods from the plants.  Then we stomped on small batches of pods, sending the ripe seed from the pods onto a tarp.  The final step was to winnow the seed and clean it.

We sent a sample to High Mowing Seed where they preformed a germination test.  89% of our mustard seed germinated.  High Mowing was happy and so were we. We let the remainder of our clean seed dry for a few more weeks before the final cleaning. We ended up with 40 pounds of seed.  It was enough to make it worthwhile endeavor.

The 2011 seed catalogues have already started to arrive. Although I have yet to get the High Mowing Seed catalogue in the mail, I know the first page I will look at will have Golden Frill Mustard on the page.  I don’t know if our seed will be divided up into 1/32 of an ounce packets or sold in bulk by the pound to farmers, but I can’t help but wonder into what earth our mustard will be sown. Hats off to his spicy braising green, great in salad or as a garnish! It was a pleasure seeing your lifecycle.