katiainmissoula:

kormosendre:

afarmjournal:

OH MY GODS IT’S FREAKING TOMATO COTYLEDON. I see it! It’s unfolding out of the soil, practically right before my eyes! Unfortunately, not really before my eyes, but I swear this popped up no more than 30 minutes before I took the photo. I was working on the other trays, and when I looked back, there it was. And one of my 100-day guys, too, glad he’s early! Then there’s some future sexy candy-stripe Chioggias, teeny tiny thyme, and one of my winter squash is peeking, too! One of my lemon cukes is about to come up, and my tray of kale for baby greens is poppin’, but my phone couldn’t get a good shot under the bright lights.

This is the first time I’ve ever started things from seed all by myself! Now to avoid killing them….

Same here, I just started to grow my tomatos from seed the 1st time and they’re like 3-4” tall by now! I’d say don’t worry too much about killing them, water them whenever their soil is dry (about every 2 days) and keep them in the light. In about 3 weeks they’ll have their first real leaves. Very exciting to see them grow. :)

Wow, I didn’t get a notification about this reblog- just seeing it for the first time! Thanks for your kind words :) I know I won’t kill them, I just planted them extremely early so I was concerned about having enough light. As it turns out, I was right (it’s overcast probably 60% of the time here in spring) and they’ve barely grown. I added extra lights, and there has been more sun the past two weeks, but I’m looking forward to better weather and a well-lit apartment next month! The tomatoes are the smart ones, though- instead of getting leggy, they just didn’t grow until there was enough light. Some of them didn’t even germinate until a month after seeding. The beets are mixed, with some of them spindly and some of them just now germinatig.

The tomatoes that came up first are finally putting on leaves, the squash are really going, and the okra is finally greening up. Sadly, I think I am going to have to scrap almost all my brassicas because they are beyond spindly (not to worry- I have plenty of seed to start more!). Spinach is questionable, but I think a couple will make it. I’m definitely going to seed more okra next month- the warmer the germination temperature, the faster they grow throughout the season. Leeks are slow, too. I just saw a secondary leaf (first one) yesterday, but they’re still standing, at least! My chives seeds were bunk, so I had to go buy more- those are germinating well the past few days. Peas and beans are very happy, which was to be expected since they have so much power packed into their seeds. I’ve got three containers (9 plants) that I’m going to try to finish indoors, and I will be direct-seeding some peas in my new apartment’s garden, probably this upcoming week :)

Also very exciting- I just received a lovely “care package” of all the things I couldn’t fit in my suitcase when coming home from OSBG, including an envelope of mystery beans I found, harvested, and planted in February. They are a deep purple, but I couldn’t tell what color the pods were when the plants were alive. I’m hoping they’re a yummy black bean! I hear the ones I planted are doing well in NOLA, and I’m excited to try them out here at home. I think I am going to do a trial in the outside garden, plus try to finish some inside since I’m not sure how long they take to finish or if our dry summers are the right climate for them.

One day a couple of weeks ago, I cooked the big leaves off this bok choy. Knowing I could make use of what was left, I stuck in in this little 4 oz jar, with a sprinkle of dirt in the bottom and some water.

It was getting in the way in the kitchen, so I stuck it on the shelf under the grow lights. I added water to the jar as it evaporated. Every time I made scrambled eggs I forgot about the bit of bok choy. I remembered the way I would eat baby cabbage out of the beds last fall, from the tilled-in first succession. Those stalks grew leaves where there hadn’t been any before; maybe if I let this sit for a while, something might happen. If not, I could eat it. I moved my shelves and lights around, and the bok choy got pushed to a corner.

I forgot to check the water for two or three days. Yesterday I noticed it was very deflated and sad-looking. I added water in the morning. When I checked again in the evening, it was thirsty again. I pulled the choy out to add another sprinkle of dirt. On the bottom, I thought I saw what could be root nubs, but I was tired and didn’t have my glasses so I didn’t look too hard.

This morning, bok choy was bright and perky again (first pic)! I just flipped it over, and look what I saw (second pic)! I’m curious to see if they’ll grow enough to stick it in a pot. If I transplant it, will it start new growth? How long will it grow before bolting? It was pretty big when I bought it. Can I maybe get some seeds out of it to plant at the end of the summer?

Although far from the smallest, tomato seeds are teeny. It’s hard to believe six-foot plants will grow from seeds this size! A thin layer of dirt is all they need on top- twice the width of the seed is not much soil. You want to make sure the seed is not too covered so that it can breathe and so the leaves can find their way to the surface.

After they’re planted into slightly moist soil and covered, I use a spray bottle to dampen the soil to create the right germination climate. When watering seeds for germination, I stick my finger down into the cell (in the corner, away from the seed!) to check the bottom of the soil. If the bottom is dry, I soak the cell gently, so that the seed and soil are not disturbed. If the bottom is moist but the top is dry, I give it a spritz with the spray bottle.

I think watering is where most new gardeners have issues getting seeds to germinate. It’s easy to give too little or too much water, especially at a time when the seed needs a humid environment in order to split, but also needs a dry enough environment that it does not drown or rot.

Winter squash seeds are big, but flat. I use the pad of my finger to gently create a depression, as opposed to using the tip of my finger to make a deep hole. Then gently cover the seeds with soil about 2x the width of the seed.