Tag Archives: seed

Planting Seedlings

I planted all of the plants that I had growing in the seed tray. Well, the ones that survived anyway. The tomatoes and peppers look like they are going to do really well.

I'm excited about my fruits this year. All except for one raspberry plant is doing really well so I should have a decent crop this year and a great crop next year. All of the blueberries look good and are flowering. The scuppernong vine has started to break out in leaves. I'm very happy to have my grape vine. I hadn't really expected to get one this year, much less one this large. If you haven't had the please of having a scupperong grape I highly suggest you try to find some this year. The seeds and tougher skins make them harder to just munch on like other grapes but it's worth it. They're like eating hot wings, after eating a bowl of them you're hands and face may be covered in juices and it will be totally worth it.

I haven't quite kept up with my calendar. I still need to seed the muskmelon and eggplant. Also, it looks like I won't have nearly as many tobacco plants as I had hoped. I'll try to seed a few more this year, but I don't expect to have very many.

Seed Tray pt 2

The seed tray has worked out very well for me. My attempts with using uncovered cups did not. I purchased another 25 spot tray, with a package of refills.

The beans and corn quickly grew to three times the height of the cover and I had to remove them. Also, I didn't keep careful record of it and now I don't know which beans are Cranberry and which are the Blackeyed.

I drew more detailed versions of each garden plot so now I have a better idea of how many seeds to plant. It appears that I might have some room for broccoli. Looking over the layout, I'm going to have a busy season.

Seed Tray

I purchased a planting tray to start my seeds in. This tray has 72 cells for starting seeds in. The cells are open to the main tray in the bottom so that water can flow freely throughout. As you can see, when water is added the pods expand. I have seeded several plants. I am following the directions for the tray (which includes a clear plastic cover) and am placing it in a warm place, out of direct sunlight.

I labeled each column and row so that I can keep track of what is growing where. For instance:

A1, A2, B1  Bell Pepper
C1,C2, B2, D1  Cranberry Bean
B3-B6  Black-eye Peas
A3-A6  Black Mexican Corn
C3-C6  Lemon Balm
D2-D6  Greek Oregano
E1-E6  Celery
F1-F6  Chives
G1-G6  Spinach
H3-H6  Sugar Snaps
H1, H2, I1-I4  Old German Tomato
I5, I6, J6  Sweet Pepper
J1-J5, K6  Carrot
K1-K5  Tennessee Red Corn
L4-L6  Cayenne Pepper

Avocado

Apparently avocados are fairly simple to grow. The process is a lot like starting a potato. Place the pit pointy side up, submerge the lower inch in water, holding the rest of it up with toothpicks.

I have done this and placed it in my south facing window.

It looks like I scored the side of the pit when cutting it out of the fruit. I'll have to see if this causes a problem.

Seeds for Planting

If you've looked at the pages for my two garden beds you have a  pretty good idea where I'm planning to plant things.

I received my package of seeds this week. Thankfully, each packet has instructions on it for seeding guidelines. I will try to update and adjust my calendar as required. Below is a list of whatI purchased this year. I should have enough to  plant this year and still plant roughly the same amount next year (if I can store them properly).

  • SUNFLOWER, Peredovik (oil seed)
  • PEA, SNAP (TALL), Sugar Snap
  • PEANUT, Carwile's Virginia
  • CARROT, Danvers Half Long
  • CELERY, Golden Self-Blanching
  • CORN, SWEET, Black Mexican (Mexican Sweet, Black Iroquis)
  • CORN, DENT, Tennessee Red Cob
  • EGGPLANT, Black Beauty
  • PEPPER, BELL (SWEET), Sweet Chocolate (Choco)
  • PEPPER, HOT, Cayenne, Long Red
  • TOMATO, Old German
  • MUSKMELON, Sweet Passion
  • PUMPKIN, Small Sugar
  • WATERMELON, Amish Moon And Stars
  • LETTUCE, LOOSELEAF, Drunken Woman
  • ONION, BUNCHING , White Spear
  • SPINACH, Bloomsdale
  • HERB / NATIVE PLANT, Anise-Hyssop
  • HERB / NATIVE PLANT, Borage
  • HERB / NATIVE PLANT, Chives
  • HERB / NATIVE PLANT, Hyssop
  • HERB / NATIVE PLANT, Lemon Balm
  • HERB / NATIVE PLANT, Oregano, Greek
  • COTTON, Erlene's Green
  • TA05 Orinoco Tobacco