Seeds become plants - April 5
Temperature: 43 degrees, cloudy with occasional sprinkles, 20 mph windy gusts - a good day for inside work
It never ceases to amaze me how seeds that have been sitting dormant for a couple years in our basement can, with a bit of dirt and water and light, turn into plants within the space of a week.
Last weekend we planted our seeds, with the help of Scott Cairns, Caroline, and Sally. Within three days of planting the seeds, they were up - some of our seeds are almost up to the covers (not shown here) that keep the soil moist.
We’ve found over the years that seeds germinate best when we keep plastic covers over the plants until all the seeds in a particular tray have germinated.
Even regular misting doesn’t do as well as just keeping the seed trays covered.
These two trays to the right are our chioggia beets. By the time we put these in the ground - the week of May 16-17 - these will be half-size plants. We grow beets in plastic tray containers, as well as flowers (many of which haven’t germinated yet). Most of the rest of our seeds (including the tomatoes pictured above) are grown with soil blocks that we “stamp” out of dirt. This makes it easier to get the individual plants out of the trays without damaging the root structure, which is particularly important with bigger plants like tomatoes that require some strength to hold them up in the windy springs that we typically experience here in Warwick, NY.
Today we’ll be out in the garden, planting calendula, greens, larkspur, and other spring plants that require cold temperatures to germinate. Just in time too - it’s a beautiful day, but next week will be 40’s and rainy.
