From Seed to Seedling, and Beyond: (Seed Experiment #2)

*NOTE: I accidentally published this post before I was completely finished. I've edited it and think it's done now! Have you ever hit the publish button before you were ready? I didn't even do it purposely...it just 'happened'. arrgh!

My first time planting seeds (Seed Experiment #1) has been a success, thus far!







I have to say, I had no idea I could hang in there this long.


What kept me going were the seedlings themselves!


Each day I would check on them and give them the TLC I sensed that they needed.


I hung 2 grow lights from an old shelf in our basement.


It currently stores many of my workbooks and materials from my work as a counselor, along with other 'stuff''-so please excuse the mess!


Additionally, on an out-of-the-way counter in the kitchen, I exchanged the under-the-cupboard florescent lights with more grow lights:

(To avoid 'legginess', I moved the flats up closer to the lights.

I used whatever I could find-so again, another mess)!

From this packet of seeds:


...came these tiny leaves:


...and here is the Petunia today!


From these seed packets:



These have developed:

Rock Soapwort:


Wildflowers:


and, Lobelia:


(I'll do a separate post on my Lobelia...I have a surprise to share)!

The Salvia seeds have given an impressive turnout:


Here they are as seedlings:


...and now, Salvia plants!


Because I had lost the Texas Bluebonnet and Johnny Jump Ups that I'd started, I decided to plant some Dwarf Impatiens and some Thyme. (I still have so many of those little peat pots left over that I could have filled with seeds. I'll keep them for next year (hopefully they'll still be good).

I used color-coded toothpicks for labels this time!


Impatiens:


Here are some Impatiens seedlings:


and, as 'just-about' plants!


...and some Thyme

Thyme seedlings:

and some larger Thyme:

(I decided to put them in a larger pot since they were beginning to 'crawl'...and needed room)!

So as you can see, my seed experiment has been a success! I am now just waiting until they are just a bit larger to put them in the garden. I might start to harden them off now, and then leave them outside until I can find some places for them in the garden...

Hope you enjoyed my experiment as much as I have!

--Today I am thankful for a successful seed experiment!

My Seed Planting Experiment #1

Last week (Feb 17th) I purchased my seed starting kit at Lowe's. It's so easy even 'I' can do it

--who knew?

The little peat-pellets are pre-prepared--just waiting for water to be added.

After I set up my 'experiment', I found that many of you were doing the same thing. I'm happy to say, though, that I found this on my own, setting it up thinking surely 'real' gardeners don't use 'ready-made' kits!! How excited I was to learn that I wasn't alone!

Once I added water and the pellets puffed up, I loosened (around the edges) the netting that holds the peat together.

Then I planted the seeds I decided to use (about 3 per pellet), wrote out the I.D. tags, and placed them in the pellets to designate what's in each row.

The seeds I planted are Spreading Petunia, Salvia, Lobelia, Rock Soapwort, Texas Bluebonnet, Johnny Jump Up (Viola) and a few Wildflower seeds. (The Wildflowers are just for fun & could have waited to be scattered outside, but in case nothing else popped up, I wanted to have something to feel good about!).

Next I placed the tray on the Heating Mat that came with the kit (above) and then I placed the plastic cover over it (below). I added some tape to each side just to make sure the top doesn't get knocked off. Doesn't it look all neat and tidy?

After a brief period of time, condensation formed on the lid and I knew things were working as planned.

Fast forward 2 days, and the wildflowers were beginning to sprout (no surprise there).
A couple of days later and they needed to be removed. Once seedlings are up they should be uncovered...but how could I uncover the whole tray for just a few plants? So, I placed sprouted seedlings into slightly larger bio-degradable peat pots, filling them with organic soil mix.
Then, I partially covered them, leaving air flow through from the outside. I placed these on the cover of the original seedtray, hoping some warmth might pass through. After a day, I needed to remove the salvia from the enclosed tray because it's seedlings did not need to be covered all the time. A few petunia seedlings were ready to leave the original tray at this time, as well.


Now all I do is watch and wait. I keep an eye on the seedlings, and am trying to find the best light source for them. Right now I rotate them between under-counter florescent lights and the sunlit window. I cover it loosely--for part of each day--and will gradually remove this altogether. I am probably going to get some plant lights and put them under a shelf in my basement. Then I'll be set up properly to handle more pottings and emerging seedlings. I plan to plant more petunia and salvia seeds. I think they will be the most practical for me so I hope they'll do well.


As more and more seedlings appear and are ready to transfer out of the 'incubator', I will continue to put them in the larger pots and nurture. It's way too early to set them outside to harden off. So I'm wondering, how long can they stay inside without getting too leggy? Did I start too early with some types of seeds?

--Today I am thankful for the miracle of seeds.