Week 3: Indoor Seed Starts

This week I have begun indoor growing to prepare for spring planting. I have read that it is best to use grow mediums such as seed start mix or pellets made of peat or coir, but I decided to use a mixture of soil amendment and compost that I already had on hand to experiment with. This is the same mixture I used when making my raised bed. I want to experiment with different types of grow mediums in the coming weeks, but because I am low on funds this week I thought I would use what I already have on hand and this week try different mediums. I purchased plastic multi-celled containers from a local aquaponics store and the seeds were ones I had previously bought from a local retail seed bank. I already had the grow light and the shelving so all I needed to purchase for this project were the multi-celled containers.

I filled each contained with the mixture of soil amendment and compost and soaked the soil. I then added 1-2 seeds per cell. The seeds I added to the multi-celled containers are: Marketmore 76 cucumber, Swiss chard, cabbage, brown onion, mammoth dill, scallop summer squash, Anaheim chili, romanesco broccoli, Oregon spring tomato, flamenco tomato and cantaloupe.

I placed the seeds on the shelves and put the selving in my old wash room that is currently not in use. This room gets fairly cool at night, so I keep the plant light on to help keep the seeds warm. I am going to be purchasing a heating mat to place under the multi-celled containers to help keep the seeds warm enough.

The average last frost date for my region is March 1st - March 20th. Once my seeds have sprouted and grown their first true leaves I will slowly start placing them outside to get them used to the weather so as not to shock them once I plant them in my raised beds.

Raised Bed #1 Follow-Up

It's been about a month since I started my first raised garden bed. Here is a before and after picture of my garden bed and updates.

Parris Island Romaine Lettuce:

Red Romaine Lettuce:

My red romaine lettuce has started to bloom. I am going to save the seeds and plant them later.

Both the red and white onions seem to be healthy and the stalks are getting longer.

Three different types of kale:

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All three varieties of kale have developed white spots on them. I'm affraid this may be a fungus that I read is common in members of the Brassicaceae family which includes kale. I am going to keep an eye on it to see if it continues. I have not noticed it on any of my other veggies but fear if it is a fungus that it will spread.

The radish and Swiss chard seeds I planted have sprouted and look healthy.

The green onion seeds I planted have not sprouted yet. They should have already so it looks as though they are not going to. The seeds were pretty old so I plan on picking up some more seeds at the seed bank.

Week 2: Worm Box

This week I started a worm box for compost. I went to a local farmers' market to get worms from a company called Vermillion Wormery that I knew would be there. Here is a link to their website: www.vermillionwormery.com. I spoke with the owner Linda Leigh and she did not have any worms on hand, but I was able to order some to pick up at the next farmers' market.

Linda advised me that since I had not started my worm box yet, it would be wise to do so before adding worms so that microbes would have a chance to form before adding the worms.

I knew I wanted my worm box to be made out of wood opposed to plastic because wood allows for more aeration. I remembered that I had a wooden wine box just lying around that I thought would be perfect.

The first step was to drill holes in the bottom of the box for aeration and drainage.

Next, I added a mixture of shredded paper and cardboard for the bedding and soaked the mixture in water. I want to start slowly not only because this is my first worm box, but because I want to keep the box healthy and not have more scraps than the worms can digest quickly. Starting slow will also allow for bacteria to grow which is beneficial to the box.

I had about 10 red wiggler worms that I found and added them to the box along with some kitchen scraps which consisted of egg shells and artichoke clippings until my order of worms from the Vermillion Wormery are available. I have decided on a process where I will add scraps to one side of the box and when the worms have turned those scraps into castings I will add more scraps to the other side. This process will cause the worms to migrate to wherever the scraps are so I will be able to easily remove the castings when needed.

Once I added the few worms I had and the scraps, I put the lid on the box to give the worms darkness and placed the boxed on an old pot to collect any liquid that comes out through the holes on the bottom of the box.