One Frog in the Peas

But an otherwise unobstructed view.

Spring has sprung here in NC.  Which, of course, means that it's in the 70s and 80s during the day, and still occasionally drops to freezing temps at night.  Up here on the third floor, I haven't had to do much to protect my seedlings - I'm more worried about not watering them enough than seeing them perish to cold.

The boys and I went to Michigan for a week during spring break and, of course, had a marvelous time galavanting between the homes of various friends and family.  My tolerance for cold has all but evaporated,  but I must admit that unlike springs here in the south, spring in the ice box is much more a cause for celebration.  Here, greenery more or less pops into existence.  In Michigan, each new bud and bloom is revered and celebrated.

So, my patio is ready for a new garden season.  Pots are scrubbed and shelves are cleared, and I need to start thinking about what I'm planting.  There are a few plants still going, but most (even the perennials) managed to die because I forgot that, in the south, in the winter, on a patio, you must water all year round.  Oops.

The what-to-plant debate has been further complicated by the fact that I don't know what to do about my community garden spot.  The garden leader has decided to move me from last year's spot to a different one, and I object.  I put close to $100 worth of soil improvements in my plot last year, and to have to start from scratch this year would SUCK.  I've bemoaned the places' excessive rules and stupid policies before (and if the new plot the dude gives me is one that was overrun with mint last year, I'm really gonna be pissed).  I object to the enforced "community building" crap - I don't want to be social, thankyouverymuch, I just need some dirt.  And truth be told, my patio is plenty of work already.  But oh, the sunshine my plants get at the plot... it absolutely can't be rivaled here.

Quinn misses roses.  I can't do sunflowers properly on the patio.  Or peppers.  I should probably just suck it up, especially since I've already paid the $30 annual fee.  Don't worry, I'll talk myself back into yet.  But I think my irritation at losing last year's work is justified.

Tomorrow I think I'll be off to do some plant shopping and pick up some dirt.  But today, I'm enjoying a mostly unobstructed view from the patio, in perfect weather, with a hot cuppa and the pumpkin bread I made last night.  Life is good.

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The Beginnings of a Patio Garden

Before I came back to MI, I got my patio garden off to a start.  I didn't have time to make it pretty, but that doesn't matter as much as actually having things growing:D

Gerber Daisies from Harris Teeter, a sock grass man Torin made at school, a variety of morning glories (to be spread out in different pots later), and a white pot with a moonflower that hadn't sprouted yet.  You can see my hummingbird feeder in the background.  I have no idea if hummingbirds come through my area at all, but better safe than sorry;)

Before I had found a community garden plot, I went on the assumption that I wouldn't have one.  So the terra cotta pots have pole bean and wax bean seeds that hadn't sprouted yet.  I think I'll leave them - what's more fun then going out to the porch an picking some yummy treats?  I have no idea if the smaller pot is big enough, but let's just call it an experiment!

The metal wash bin has a variety of salad fixins - a lettuce mix, green onions, radishes, etc - and two types of nasturtiums (which are edible too!).  There are some cucumber seeds under the wire cage - I'll let the healthiest plant climb up the cage instead of the porch.  Once the greens are over with, I'll fill it with later season crops and/or flowers.

 

Lettuce, spinach, flowers, parsley, dahlias from Harris Teeter... I would have to look at the seed packets to remember what is where.  There is another bird feeder there too.

See the cardboard underneath?  Well, the last apartment I lived in (about 5 years ago) taught me a lesson in remembering to be aware of drippings... the stuff that falls between the wooden floorboards on unsuspecting neighbors below.  It was a incident involving one of those small blue wading pools full of water on the patio, Torin, and neighbors coming in with groceries at just the wrong moment... I don't like to speak of it now.  :D  So, in a preemptive move to avoid patio wars, I used some giant cardboard strips left from new mattress packaging to prevent an invasion of dirt and compost raining down on the neighbor below. 

 

Finally, some basil.  Basil needs more light than my patio is able to provide, I think, so I took a different approach.  I bought one of those kitchen rod hanger sets from Ikea, bolted it to the outside rail, and wired the pots to it so they wouldn't blow off.  I'm going to do more of that, I think... the pots already have holes in the bottom, and the rods are pretty inexpensive!

I'm going back this weekend, so I'll have an update on how things are doing soon.  I'm such a geek - I can't wait to see how many true leaves have emerged!

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Seedling Sunday: The Delicate Art of Seedling Transfer Part 1 - Paper Towel Seedlings

One of my favorite forms of germination is sprinkling the seeds on a damp paper towel, covering it with a plastic bag, and leaving it alone for a few  days.  It's almost insta-growth.  Even the most hard-to-germinate plants will start out quickly this way.  It only takes a few days to a week.

Take your base (I use meat trays that have been thoroughly washed) and lay two or three sheets of paper towel down.  You want enough ply so that the cloth will stay damp, but not too few so that the seeds are in water.  Sprinkle your seeds on top, spray gently with water, and seal in a ziploc baggie.  Don't forget to label.  A few days later, you'll see growth.

You don't want to leave them in the paper towel for very long.  Once you see a couple tiny leaves, you'll need to transplant.  Too much longer past that, and you'll damage the roots when you start manipulating the paper towel.

This is what you'll need:  Water, seed starter mix, potting soil mix, a place to transplant, and a spray bottle full of water.

 Now, a lot of people just use seed starter, but I'm a creative cheapskate.  Comes from growing up poor.  Seed started is expensive, and I don't like the way it holds water.  So, I fill y pot 3/4 with good old fashioned cheapy potting soil. 

Then I top it off with seed starter, and drench with water.

Now, the delicate part.  You can try to pull individual seedlings out, but I find that to be way too time consuming, with low returns if you damage the fragile root.  So I cut swatches out at a time.

Pull off the bottom layers of paper towel, leaving only the topmost layer.

If you turn it sideways, you'll get a really cool visualization.

Now lay the sheets on top of the pot.

Add a handful of more seed starter on top.  You can either leave the soil covering the plants, or gently blow on it to expose them to light.

Spray the whole lot with enough water to dampen the seed starter.  If you missed the pre-plant watering of the dirt, ever so carefully do it now.

Now revel in the new growth!

Well, I guess not all of are so easily pleased. 

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The Who-What-When of Starting Seedlings

Spring is in the air!

OK, maybe that's an exaggeration. I mean, I’m currently sitting cozy in my house watching Farscape while a snowstorm dumps almost a foot of snow on my back porch.  However, looks what’s growing in my windowsill!



It’s lettuce and eggplant, in case you’re wondering.

Two Saturdays ago, I was in dire need of some quality play-in-the-dirt time.  Luckily, I have an awesome boss who has not only an indoor greenhouse (a glorious tiny glass room accessible through a sliding glass door behind the kitchen), but is generous enough to invite desperately cabin-feverish moms and their boys over for some planting!

I didn’t purposely plant lettuce (which won’t be transplanted, merely eaten when it gets large enough) and eggplant (which will eventually be transplanted) together.  They came home from Jean’s in separate pots.  But a certain little puckish boy decided he wanted to play chef with plastic spoons and dirt.



Yep, that’s him.  I’m just grateful anything came up at all!

I’ve ordered buckets of seeds from catalogs and while I’m waiting for them to get here, I started cleaning and organizing the containers I’ve been saving all winter for seed starters.



Oh yes, it’s recycling at it’s finest!  The plastic carryout container is an ideal starter because, while closed, it retains heat and moisture.  The bottom of a milk jug is perfect for shallow-rooting seeds.  Don’t throw the top away, though!  You’ll be using it as a heat cover for tender tomatoes or other heat-loving plants.  I like the cardboard soup bowls and OJ boxes because you can easily remove the paper without damaging the roots or plants when it’s time to transplant.  Also pictured are yogurt, fruit, and pudding cups and the bottom of a plastic water bottle.

Why use these?  Because they’re free.  Because they’re small, so you don’t waste lots of expensive seed starter or dirt and vermiculite.  (For some great recipes for potting soil mixes, check out The Artistic Garden’s page on the subject.)  Because it’s irresponsible to buy new containers when you’ve got lots of usable stuff lying around already.

Next comes the question of what to plant when.

First, figure out your zone.  You can find zone maps on the web, but in my experience, most of Michigan is roughly Zone 4b/5a.  The Detroit area is Zone 6.  Southern Delta/Schoolcraft area is, oddly enough, Zone 3.  But from Copper Harbor down through southern Michigan, you can be sure to grow plants rated for zone 4.  And even though many zone 5 plants will make it, some of them don’t when the winter is particularly hard or when there isn’t enough snow to keep the plants insulated.

(Note: You can also plant tender perennials for zone 6 or 7 in sunken pots, and pull them and keep them a Michigan basement to over-winter.  Rosemary is a good example of a tender perennial you can grow this way.)

Now you can figure out your last date of frost.  Though you can find them here, in my experience, you’re usually safe to get the hardy stuff (peas, cabbage, lettuce, etc.) by Mother’s Day.  You can also put tomatoes and such out as long as you provide some cover, such as the tops of milk jugs, or if you want to get really fancy, heat tunnels made of polythene film draped over wire hoops (made of coat hangers or bent fencing).

Now time for some simple math.  Counting backwards from that date, create a calendar that looks something like this:

Last Date of Frost  in Grand Rapids, MI (90% certainty): May 19^th

10 weeks from LDF: March 24th
8 weeks from LDF: April 1st
6 weeks from LDF: April 7th
4 weeks from LDF: April 21st
2 weeks from LDF: May 5th

Now, check the back of seed packets.  For example, my gourd seeds tell me they can be started indoors 4 weeks before the date of last frost.  April 21st it is!



There are, of course, some variations.  I have a couple home-made coldframes out back, so I can plant stuff really, really early.  I’ll have started radishes, carrots, lettuce, and other crops out in my coldframe in March.  Some I will transplant when the ground is ready.  Some will stay there until maturation.

I also use my coldframes to harden off crops.  Most of the plants you start indoors can’t be planted outside as soon as it’s safe.  You’ll have to spend a week or so taking them out and leaving them in the cold for progressively longer periods of time so they don’t die of shock.  Read more here.

Finally, with some plants, bigger is better.  I’m starting some perennial plants (columbine and hollyhocks) right now.  The bigger they are, the longer the growing season, the better chance they have of surviving.  Their flowering cycles will be messed up for a season, but after a winter they’ll be fine, perfectly in sync with the seasons.

My seed order should be here any day now.  I’m so excited!  Among the plants are some old friends of mine that I’ve haven’t grown in a decade, like woad and rue.  You can be sure that I’m gonna be playing in the dirt again as soon as the seeds get here!

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