Starts for spring

Its that time of year to think about starting your plants from seed. This will be my 3rd year starting my tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and some melons from seeds. I have learned a great deal from reading gardening books and from my own mistakes.

First I put together my starter mix. I use 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/6 potting soil and 1/6 worm castings all mixed together thoroughly. I keep the mixture in a large Tupperware container, this keeps it from drying out. The garden centers do sell seed starter mixes, but I like this one better. I purchase 3" peat pots to start my seeds because they are biodegradable, hold moisture well and are inexpensive (about 5 cents a piece ). Next you need plastic starter trays with clear lids. They are sold everywhere and can be used year after year. Make sure if you are using them over that you clean than with a 10% Clorox solution to kill fungus and bacteria which may be left from previous years use. Fill the peat pots full to the top with the starter mix and place them in the tray. Eighteen pots will fit in a standard tray. Next fill the plastic tray with approximately 1 1/2 quarts of warm clean water. Allow the water to soak into the mix and pots completely. Take your seeds (I like heirloom seeds ) and place 2 to 3 seeds per pot. The reason for more than one seed is that you do not always get all the seeds to germinate. Depending on the seed, you may get as few as 50% to come up. Press these seeds into the mix approximately 1/4 inch deep and cover the seed. If the top of the mix still feels dry add a small amount (1 Tablespoon ) to the top of the mix. Place the clear plastic cover over the tray and place in a warm spot, for example near a heat vent or on top of the refrigerator. Check them each day for sprouts. This can be from 3 to 10 days depending on the seed. As soon as a majority have sprouted, remove the cover and place under a fluorescent light. The plants should be within 2 to 3 inches of the light for 15 to 18 hours a day. Keep them damp, but not wet, and if possible water the tray so the plants are watered from the bottom. After a week or so I thin out the weaker plants if 2 or 3 plants come up in each pot. After a couple weeks the plants could use a mild fertilizer. I use a diluted fish emulsion solution: 1 part fish emulsion to 40 parts water which is approximately 1/4 cup emulsion to 1 gallon of water. You can purchase this at any garden center.

When the time comes for outside planting (varies with temperature zone and type of plant) you should harden the plants off. Start by setting them out an hour the 1st day, 2 hours the second, and so on. After a week you should be able to transplant your plants.

layered gardening

Over the winter months I have been preparing my vegetable garden by method of layering my rows. What this means is installing layers of materials to amend the soil. The materials I use are as follows. First, I install cardboard or newspaper over the grass or vegetation. This kills any weeds by blocking out all the sunlight. Also the newspaper or cardboard materials retain moisture and draw worms to the surface. They love to eat these materials. On the top of the cardboard or newspaper I spread chemical free grass clippings (no pesticides have been sprayed on the lawn), leaves (except walnut or locust), composted materials I have on hand, and horse manure from pasture fed horses. These layered materials act like a small compost pile. Finally I put wet, old, compacted straw on the piles, leaving a small space down the center of the rows. This acts as the final mulch. It holds in moisture and protects the piles. Letting this set for months allows the microbes & worms time to work though the materials and naturally improve the soil. In the spring about a month before planting I use a small hand hoe on the center to mix up the material and bring up some of the soil beneath to prep for planting.