Greening up my Thumb
It's early in the year, and like the grass here on the frozen shores of lake Erie my green thumb is dormant and needs to be woken up. For starters I try a couple things on the windowsill. Quick & easy.
I always keep my scallions in water near the window- they last a week if I'm lucky in the fridge, and a month or more in water. Truthfully, I eat them by the time a month goes by, but since they are still good at that time, I figure they must last longer....
The celery heart is identifiable, the shotglass holds a romaine heart. Simple easy free way to get the gardening juices flowing is to try and root some veggies we might otherwise throw away. Early March here now, planting out date is mid May at the earliest- we'll see how that goes.
In the spirit of free stuff, a gallon milk jug turned up in the recycling a couple weeks ago, and some of the video viewing I've been doing has lead me to believe a single leaf lettuce might only need a one gallon Kratky reservoir. In my last post I mentioned the one Kratky bucket i tried last year, limited success due to the plants I chose, not due to the system. System actually worked well, I just chose some crappy plants to try. I decided to try a leaf lettuce plant in a gallon. My seeds were old, last year's I think, so I figured I'd need to plant some extra. Two seeds into two peat posts, set them on top of the fish tank which is heated to 78 degrees F. Since the seed were old(er) I also put some in a wet paper towel, inside a baggie, on top of the fish tank.
Fast forward a week and a half, the peat pots show no sign of life BUT the seeds (turns out there were 7) all have a single root! I threw the peat pots in the trash and made myself some net pots out of 3 oz plastic dixie cups. Heated nail pokes holes in a hot hurry. They should nest nicely in a two inch diameter hole in the top of my jug.
Yup- I used a square nail. Got a bag full of them, That's for another blog.
If given enough time, the little sprouted seeds will start to grow little hair roots into and through the paper towels. If that happens, it's best to plant the towel, or at least a bit of it, with the baby plant. If you try to pick the little guys off the towel, the micro-fine roots will all tear and mortality usually follows.
I didn't wait.
Filled my little home made net pots with potting soil, poked a hole down the center with a pencil, and lifted the rooted seeds off the towel with a toothpick. Into the hole, root down, seed about a quarter inch below the surface and fill in around them. Water with a spray bottle, gently so as to not disturb the soil.
Fast forward another week, the brood has poked up above the surface and I need to get a light going!! I only kept four, which is going to be a problem cuz I only have one milk jug.
I'm becoming a big fan of pre-sprouting in paper towels and a baggie- no more wondering how many seedlings I'll get, and in the event I don't get the germination rate I want I get a head start on catching up. No cutting off some little sproutling when I've put more than one seed in a peat pot- I've had that lead to mold and kill of the one I left standing. I also get to plant the seed with the root pointing down- saves time over the little bugger having to do a 180 under the ground before he/she can poke their head up.
Lets go grow something. Yay Spring!
Buffalo Bif
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