'Go build a garden they said, it will be fun they said'. Well, looking back on last year, gardening was no fun at all at the start of the season. It was super moisty and wet until super long and because of that literally ever cool crop I had was eaten by slugs.
If I hadn't had such awesome results the year before, I would seriously have been disencouraged to start to grow any food again.
What I plan to do for this year is just start a bit earlier with everything, so the plants will be a lot bigger and stronger before heading outside. Maybe this will also help on their chance of survival out in the great big open world of outdoors.
So screw this.... I am starting to plant my seeds in February already! Let's have a look on what is going on!
Germinating the super hot pepper seeds from last year
Now this is something I have already started with about two weeks ago. Hot peppers are known that they take a serious good while for their seeds to germinate. Last year I did have a very decent pepper harvest late in the season and I ended up drying the seeds from one of the most decent peppers, with the idea to maybe start a new batch from the 'old' plants' seeds.
Now remember...I don't have a green house or anything, so it is all up to getting it done with everything there is around. I used a small plastic container where I had bought cherrytomatoes in and put a sheet of paper towel in there with some water over it, sealing it off with some plastic foil.
Peppers need temperatures starting from 25 degrees celsius and up to even sprout and they need this at a constant temperature. Since it is freezing here outside that is a bit of a challenge. But I put my little container everywhere where it is warm. On the heater, in the sun during the day..and after a couple of days you could already see there were tiny roots forming on the seeds. YAY!
Just two days ago I moved the sprouted seeds to a container with sand and a lid over it so the heat and moist will stay in. And already today one of the seeds had it's little head popping up already.
And just an hour later he is already standing up fierce and proud. I have good vibes on these pepper guys!
Growing light
Now one of my impulsive moves on buying was this growing light when it was just super dark and foggy here in the country. It was a cheap one and I got a time switch with it, since plants don't want light all day long. It also has a container under there for water with some absorbing material which keeps the bottom of the plants hydrated. Neat system! I do think you have to clean the cloth quite regularly as this is constantly hydrated and prone to whatever fungus and bacteria.
I just want to propagate and use my herbs a lot better than other years. Splitting the amounts and cutting off the basil to let it grow roots is stuff that is going on at the moment.
I have to say...that stuff is growing good even though (or because) I am cutting and eating it regularly. But if this is because of the water or because of the light....I am not sure...
Plant in a box
My shopping spree continued as I was determined to get more and better plants in the house and I bought three types of citrus stems. Now these guys came from Plant in a box and were packaged perfect and survived their transport really well.
I was more than surprised by that honestly.
So in the package is a small limebush stem, a lemonbush stem, and a sort of a kumquat-ish kind of stem. I use a lot of these in food and what better to get a couple in the house as well as they smell super fresh and they are self pollinating.
I don't think they will give anything this year as they are a bit too small it in growth as yet, but this is a multi year project for sure.
Thai Basil
Another herb that is annoyingly expensive to purchase here in the Netherlands which I use a lot in food is Thai Basil. Last year I had a decent bush going on, but I put this one outside and didn't take it inside anymore so it went to the Thai Basil heaven...
So I am trying to grow some new ones but they seem to take forever to grow any further. Admitting: this guy was in crap soil and I moved him also two days ago to a better and warmer house and he is doing a lot better at the moment.
But this is just one plant and we need mooooore so I started a couple of other seeds of them again also on warm papertowel in the warm sun.
Just look the left snap that they have this gellish layer on there and the right snap is from just a day later. Small roots are already forming! That is exactly what we need to get stuff started, decent roots
I guess these guys will catch up with their big brother!
What else?
Now I also have this turbo growing mystery seedling which was growing between my worm castings. In other words...this can be anything from a bell pepper plant to a tomato plant to just some ordinary garden weeds, as I just toss everything in with the worms.
I am just growing this seedling and eventually we will find out what kind of plant it is right? Double the fun!
I also saw that in my gardening app that in two weeks it is already time to plant some peas and start them indoors, so I will also go with that as I like these climbing plants.
Im flirting with the idea of just starting them this week and leaving them indoors, but it is a bit tricky at the moment. The sun is doing good on the growing box, and once these peas come to life the grow fast. But Im not sure if I can keep them inside long enough until the frost is done in May.. choices to make I guess!
As you see I am working the way up with some small stuff, but for me the most important is that I get super good vibes with growing stuff, and that is the most important thing!
See ya in the garden!
Firstly the pictures look so clear and beautiful. Your seeds are growing quite well using this paper towel method but I do not know why I have not yet been able to get good at this technique. I can grow larger seeds using paper towel but I do not grow seeds like tomatoes and pappers.
Sending Love and Ecency Curation Vote!
Not forget the rest next to the paper towel. Put in a clear plastic container (left over from tomatoes or something) ..that will create like a mini sauna which makes them sprout because of the combo of heat and moist
Perhaps I was making a mistake by not providing sunlight to that container. I am going to try this whole process again and see if the seeds germinate this time or not. Thank you for your tips! :)
It is great that you are starting in February. For the same reasons I will be doing the same. Let's hope that the weather this year is less rainy and the yields will be great. Peppers do take a while so it is great that you have started. I hope your peas will not get too overgrown inside before the frost disappears. Keep up the good work and all the best wishes.
Having plants from seed is lovely. This stage is where they require the most care.
Don't forget to use the #gardenjournal tag - we tend to check that most days during the challenge. Love the grow light - will that go in the kayak too? :P And all year round basil - yeahhhh!
win tips and upvotes from the Hive Garden. Don't forget to engage with other Hive gardeners!The #gardenjournal challenge lasts for around 10 days from the 1st of every month - you have the chance to
Don't forget to use the #gardenjournal tag - we tend to check that most days during the challenge. Love the grow light - will that go in the kayak too? :P And all year round basil - yeahhhh!
win tips and upvotes from the Hive Garden. Don't forget to engage with other Hive gardeners!The #gardenjournal challenge lasts for around 10 days from the 1st of every month - you have the chance to
Spring flavour