Growing From Seed, The Continuing Saga

March 4th, 2009 - filed under: The Farm » Flora

 

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Remember those guys ^^^ up there?  Those are the Zinnia sprouts that I featured when I wrote all about How To Start Seeds Indoors.  Well, those little babies are growing up fast, and all of a sudden they’re outgrowing their acreage.  See, it’s too cold still to put them outside just yet, but their current container is no longer viable. I began them in a shallow bed of starter mix, and now they need deeper potting soil for their roots to expand.  It’s time to move them, which I just love because it means we get to use the itty bitty minipots!  So cute!

If you find yourself anxious at this prospect, please don’t be.  Transplanting a wee seedling can seem so scary, because they are terribly fragile and ever-so-precious. But it’s a very simple process, quick and painless.  It goes like this:

 

With a serving spoon or similar, dull-edged tool, gently loosen the dirt around the seedling you wish to transplant.

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Carefully work the spoon underneath the seedling, allowing a wide berth around the stem and angling as vertical as possible to allow for maximum depth.  Slowly lift the seedling and surrounding starter mix.

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Using your most ginger touch, pick out any other seedlings or seeds that may try to compete for nutrients.  

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This is what you want to end up with – your seedling perched within a good-sized, clean clump of starter mix :

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Gently slide your seedling clump into a pot that you have already  prepared, filled 3/4 full with real potting soil.  Just let the seed and starter fall off the end of the spoon to rest atop the soil.

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Using your fingers add more potting soil, covering the starter mix and the base of the stem – but not too deep!

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Lightly tamp down the soil.  Lightly.

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Give your new transplant a little watering, and don’t forget to label each pot.  Return it to your south-facing window so that it can continue to flourish.  Then, stand back and marvel at the Ultimate Cuteness of baby plants in tiny pots!

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Right now my windowsill garden is off and running, and I’m having a blast farming the winter away!   I just put in some Cilantro and Parsley, and will soon be adding Broccoli and Bok Choy.  I’ve got a cupcake tin filled with Rocket (arugula) :

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And some beautiful heirloom Beets (look at those colors!) :

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And what about you, my fellow farmers?  What are you growing for spring?

sign-off

  • http://hautemacabre.wordpress.com Sam

    I have pruning my garden on my to-do list for this week. The weather has been so unpredictable this winter that the basil didn’t make it, and the tomatoes & catnip need the deadites trimmed back. However, the onions, oregano, rosemary, and garlic are growing like MAD.

    I desperately need to harvest the spinach & Swiss Chard, both are so overgrown and demanding to be eaten!

  • http://www.FitnessHealthAndHealing.com Paul Piotrowski

    Nice Blog. I like all the pictures. One thing I would like to suggest as a possible improvement is to make your RSS button more prominent. I kept looking for the RSS symbol and couldn’t find it for about 10 minutes. Only then I realized it’s right beside the chicken. :)

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com Sayward

    @ Sam – I am uber jealous of your ability to year-round garden! You overwintered tomatoes and herbs? Gah! Not fair!

    @ Paul Piotrowski – Thanks! And haha, I hear you on the chicken-hidden RSS. Duly noted. =)

  • Kat

    HEIRLOOMS! I love heirloom seeds. I have 11 different tomatoes, 5 kinds of peppers, 4 kinds of cukes (including a white cucumber that I am uberexcited to try), baby eggplants that are going in the container garden on the deck, beans, shiso, 2 kinds of basil (the standard large-leafed and lemon basil), onions, carrots, beets, red celery, half a dozen kinds of berries and maybe even a small vineyard if I get around to it this year, lamb’s quarter, pepper cress, and borage for salad greens, cilantro, and chives. Whew!

    Plus, I’m going to get a couple spicy pepper seedlings (not dealing with those from seed; peppers are notoriously hard to grow) so I’ll be growing EVERYTHING I need to make and can my own salsa right at home. EVERYTHING. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, cilantro. It still amazes me that I may actually pull this off. (This is my first year gardening since that awful awful awful high school experience… Now I know for next time. Mint goes in a POT. Not the ground. A POT. I’m still pulling it up. STILL. 5 years later. It helps that we’re completely redoing the garden, and mint grows shallow. *crosses fingers* Here’s hoping we get it all this year!)

    Oh yes, and I started pots of catgrass (mixed greens; barley, rye, wheat, and oats) for the cats. Turns out Madeleine might as well be a vegetarian — she keeps DESTROYING it. Good thing those little buggers are hardy and grow fast! I’m planting more this week.

  • http://bonzaiaphrodite.com Sayward

    @ Kat – Oh my goodness, I am in awe of your garden bounty! And all those heirlooms, it sounds amazing!!

    I too plan to make all my own salsa and can it this year. Do you know a good recipe?

    I’ve heard that horror story about the mint SO many times. Similar situations can happen with potatoes as well. But it’s happened to many a seasoned farmer, so don’t despair! haha

    Good luck with the growing!