Playing with dirt

Gardening might be the only excuse adults have to play in the dirt and not feel guilty.

Today I managed to get a second set of seedlings planted indoors.  I am beginning my experiment on testing soil blocks versus plastic cell raised seedlings.  I planted four vegetables today: orange blossom tomatoes, valley girl tomatoes, fairy tale eggplants, and straight eight cucumbers.  I didn't come up with the names, the growers did.

I planted each variety in a 9 plastic cell block and 6 soil blocks.  The numbers aren't even because the soil blocks are bigger and I'm running out of counter space.  I managed to get these all planted in about half the time it took me to do the first batch - learning is taking place!

I continued to use the Jiffy organic seed starter mix.  I put some small pebbles in the bottom of each plastic cell to enhance drainage and filled about 3/4 with wet seed soil.  I used the blunt end of a cheap pen to press a dimple into the soil.  I have discovered that the plastic $4 seed dispenser from Johnny's Select Seeds wasn't a good investment - this is pictured to the left with pepper seeds from the first round.  Instead, a $1 pair of tweezers do a better job of handling small seeds and delivering them to the holes.  I then covered each cell with a small layer of wet soil, making sure to fill in the seed holes.

The soil blocks can be tricky.  I've learned that the soil needs to more wet than dry, but not soaking wet.  While a circular bucket isn't the best vessel for soil blocking, it's all I have to contain the mess.  Pile the soil into the center of the bucket and pack down.  Press the soil blocker into the dirt until you feel the bottom of the bucket.  Twist the entire soil blocker and press on the handle gently before lifting.  Now here's my new trick.  Pack the dirt in from the bottom of the cells.  Squish the wet soil into each block and pack in more dirt and smooth to the bottom of the blocker.  In another bucket or the other side of the sink, place the soil blocker on the surface and press the handle down all the way while slowly raising the soil blocker.  Blocks should be formed, level with a noticeable dimple in the middle.  If they are too short or falling apart, throw them back into the bucket.  Allow blocks to sit for a few minutes before attempting to move.  Any that fall apart on touch, back into the bucket.  Place seeds into each dimple and cover with a very small amount of wet soil.

The trick seems to be getting the right soil to water ratio.  Too dry and the soil crumbles before you can get the blocks out.  Too wet and the blocks crumble when you move them to their permanent location.  It's about balance and takes some practice - add a little more water or soil to get the consistency right.

I also "installed" my second grow light from WalMart.  Copious use of masking tape is keeping both lights hanging to avoid drilling holes in my apartment.  The first light has only fallen once; a second application of masking tape has kept it hanging for the last two weeks.  I have enough counter space for either one set of 6 blocks or two more 9-cell plantings.  Since my lettuce seeds failed miserably, I'm debating trying again or just waiting to sow outside.

I also mixed my first batch of plant food using a recipe from the Master Gardener lecture I attended.  Essentially it's mixing a batch of liquid plant food at half strength and adding a half teaspoon of white vinegar to help keep disease and mold away.  For my liquid plant food, this ended up being 8 cups of filtered water, half teaspoon of white vinegar and 7 drops of food.  I don't know if this was the best brand to pick, but the Master Gardener suggested not getting Miracle Grow - he said while it's popular, it's not the best on the market.   Schultz was the only alternative available at Lowe's.   This plant food is for the existing seedlings and not for the ones I just made today.  The MG said white vinegar could kill a baby seed or the plant food could burn the stem as soon as it sprouts. 

Prepping for the next round of seedlings

I usually reserve my every-other-Friday off for shopping.  Today I hit both Target and Home Depot looking for a few items.  While Target disappointed for gardening supplies, they had some outdoor furniture that looked tempting.  I'm hesitant to start buying such items not knowing whether I'll stay in this apartment long term and decent sized balconies are scarce in Alexandria. 

Home Depot had what I was looking for.  I'll probably end up making another trip for more planters or pots but I wanted to start with the bare minimum.  I purchased a 32-quart package of organic potting soil, two window box style plastic planters, some bamboo stakes which I can cut in half, and some basic gardening tools such as a small rake and a trowel.  The trowels were missing barcode stickers so she asked me how much it was and I told her.  Later when I looked at my receipt, I realized she never rang it up.  Free $4 trowels at the Springfield, VA HD if you get the same girl at the register!

I haven't bought a pair of gardening gloves and cutters.  I just can't see myself paying $10 for a cheap pair of gloves from China or $20 for cutters, also made in China.  Had they looked better quality, I'd consider it.  In the mean time, I can live without both.

All this was precipitated by the fact that the pea plants are choking each other.  Since they have nothing else to grab onto, their little tendrils (tentacles) are lacing around each other.  It took me a while to  untangled them this morning.

Tomorrow's game plan is to get the pea plants into a 24 inch window sill planter.  It may be thin enough to fit on my window ledge, if not, it will go outside on the balcony with the plants covered in soda plastic bottle cloches.   My other goal is to start planting tomato seeds and eggplants.  I'll be trying each in both the plastic cell trays and the soil blocks for a small scientific experiment.

Ready, set, seedling!

It's been a bit of a dramatic week.  What may have been a small drain blockage in my complex ended up a watery mess in my apartment.  Tuesday night my sink and dishwasher overflowed.  The front desk came knocking when it started raining downstairs.  In the midst of trying to rescue some items in my kitchen, I knocked over a few pepper seedlings that had been limping along.  Perhaps it was for the best.  They have gone to a better place where they can decompose back to nature.

What remains is from the first set of plantings and most of them are healthy.  The pea plants are growing fast, so I hope the cool weather this weekend is the last.  I may need to learn the art of cloches  because the peas are quickly outgrowing the plastic cell trays.  This essentially would mean planting the peas in a container outside and covering it with the top half of an uncapped soda bottle to keep it warm.  Also doing well but growing much slower are Carnival multi-colored bell peppers and small sweet peppers (to the left, in the brownie-looking soil blocks).  I have the cotyledons going strong but not much else appearing.



What isn't doing well is lettuce (leftmost two rows in the picture to the right).  Although they were the first to pop up, the lettuce sprouts are sadly limping, with stringy weak stalks.  I believe this is due to poor light.  I have been using a grow light, but the short sprouts would need the light right on top of them.  Luckily, my package of lettuce seeds has plenty more.  I may try another round sewed directly into soil in a planter on my balcony.

Planning to Plant

Since I've all but abandoned my LiveJournal account, I haven't done much writing outside of the 250 character limit on Facebook.  I am trying a gardening experiment this year and decided to track my progress on a new blog site.  I've never blogged before, so this will be exciting.

I recently moved to Virginia and spent my first winter away from Rhode Island.  I've been surprised at how mild the winter was and the lack of snow this season.  Every major snow storm that hit the West, South and New England missed D.C.  This has set up a warmer than average spring, and I'm hoping the perfect weather for an apartment balcony garden.

I haven't grown vegetables for two summers - my last attempt was in RI.  The summers there are short and very prone to fickle New England weather.  My last veggie garden drowned in too much rain, ending with moldy tomatoes and mushy zucchini.  My friend Justin, who has been blogging about his gardens, was more successful on a third floor deck before moving to a new house.  I'm hoping to have similar success on my second floor balcony in a high-rise apartment in Alexandria, VA. 

My first venture was deciding what to plant.  I read the online catalog at Johnny's Seeds to gain some insight, as well as attending a free seminar hosted by the Northern Virgina's Master Gardener's Association.  Both suggested that almost anything can be planted in a container garden, given the right water, sun and space.  I have space and water.  Sun is still to be determined as the warmer weather arrives.

I decided to purchase a mix of seeds at Lowe's and Johnny's.  From Lowe's I picked up Carnival Peppers (an organic mix of non-green peppers), Sweet Peppers (short & mild), Lettuce, and Straight Cucumber (organic). From Johnny's I got Fairy Tale Eggplant, Orange Blossom Tomato, Valley Girl Tomato (container specialty), Shelling Peas, and Basil disks. 

I also purchased two packages of Jiffy seed soil, a package of planting cells with plastic lids, some liquid fertilizer, small plastic pots from Lowe's and a 2 inch soil blocker from Johnny's.  The last was a splurge item after I saw a demonstration by the Master Gardeners.  I later purchased two grow lights from Walmart, and yes, I hate Walmart, but none of the other stores had the lights.