9.04.2013

Garden Happenings...

A sweet little package arrived in the mail yesterday... two stacks of seed packets, each carefully wrapped in the pages of a Southern Exposure Seed Exchange catalog. Yippee! Things are getting cranking for my fall garden... I planted a first round of seeds mid-August, which are happily growing under lights indoors. Now, with new seeds in hand, I'm ready to plant round two.
I'm trying out Fafard's Seed Starter Potting Mix this time, in a Jiffy Pro-Hex seed starting tray. Two trays fit perfectly on the bottom shelf of our nature table, over which I've suspended a 4' shop light. This has been my system for a few years now, and it works great for me. When necessary, I rotate out trays, moving the ones with their first sets of true leaves outside for natural light, making room for new ones inside. Having the seedlings indoors makes watering them, and protecting them from late-summer downpours, easy.
Today, I also put some attention on my houseplants, repotting, pruning, and feeding them with a bit of vermicompost, though most of this will be used to enrich the outdoor garden beds. (Those are the worm castings, above left; a little goes a long way!). It had been a really long time since my houseplants had any TLC, so they are super happy.
And I made this cute succulent garden using a few plants I propagated last spring, and adding in some seashells for whimsy, and a flower fairy to watch over it. It feels SO good to be digging in the dirt again... how about you? What's happening in your garden?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Beautiful, thank you so much for sharing this with us!! Do you have any recommendations for starting seeds indoors without the special lights?

Thanks again!

Liz ~ A Natural Nester said...

Hi Roni. You could try them in a south-facing window that gets lots of light. They really need 14-16 hours of direct light to produce healthy stems & leaves. If they get "leggy" they aren't getting enough... Good luck!