Spring has sprung upon us and it is time to start your seeds. If you are in a tropical region, then you might be able to sow directly to the soil. For most of us though, we need to start some of our goodies inside in order to have a full crop. I've already started several tomato, pepper, and tomatillo plants and some are doing quite well. I'm not done yet though. I still need to start all of my squash, cucumber, and a number of other seeds plants. I also need to start my flowers. Not sure my setup is large enough for everything I want to start this year, how about yours?
In the process of starting the seeds I have started this year, and the ones I started last year, I have learned a lot about starting seeds inside. This issue will be dedicated to my experiences in starting seeds. I'll be talking about the pots I use. At the bottom, you will also see some updates on what has changed on the Tired Garden web site and what I have planned. As usual, your input is greatly appriciated.
Pots for Starting Seeds
Alright, I'm too cheap/poor/frugal/whatever to buy those fancy pots. Besides, being the maintainer of a site with a sustainability stance I have to think about how I can minimize my carbon footprint. Those pots take energy to produce, they take energy to transport to the store, and then there is the packaging that is just going to be tossed as well as the packaging they arrived in the store in. Basically, from a sustainability point of view, I want to find a better way.
I had heard of using egg cartons. You can fit twelve precious seeds into one package and they fit into a small space. We also eat a good amount of yogurt in this house. Yes, I know that all those little containers are not really sustainable, but now I'm putting them to another use before they head to the recycling plant. We also had a stack of little dixie cups that we don't use and some bigger birthday cups. I tried all 4 types of pots. Each had their benifits and drawbacks.
Egg cartons.
Benifits: They hold 12 seeds (or 6, 18, whatever size carton you get). They don't take up much space. If you use the paper type cartons, they decompose quickly so the roots can push right through. You can transplant them in the carton. If you eat eggs, they are free.
Drawbacks: The don't hold much water. The seedlings need to be watered up to three times a day, depending on the heat. They also don't hold much seedling. The seedlings will need to be transplanted early. They are hard to mark what seeds are where.
Yogurt Containers.
Benifits: They are good size, holding a large seedling before transplanting is needed. They hold marker well, so you can mark what seed is where. If you, or someone you know, eats yogurt, they are free. You can also use other containers. I started my artichoke in a salsa container.
Drawbacks: They don't drain well. Even with some drainage holes, they don't drain as well as I'd like. The drainage holes also can be difficult to make as the container sometimes cracks. These cracks don't drain well at all. The plant has to be removed from the container when you transplant, so you can't just plant it, container and all.
Small cups.
Benifits: Small, so they fit in a small space. The seedlings can get fairly good sized. The pots decompose well. Other brands may not decompose well, but these did (I don't know what brand, sorry). You don't have to break them appart, like you do the egg cartons, but they take about the same space, fitting about 10 in the space of the dozen egg egg carton. Good drainage as the water could soak right through.
Drawbacks: The seedlings don't get big enough for outside transplanting, so will need to be transplanted twice. Since the pots decompose, so does the lable written on the side. I could just barely read it when I transplanted them.
Large Cups.
Benifits: Large enough to hold a good sized seedling. The lettering did not fade, as the cups were wax coated. Cups held up really well.
Drawbacks: Wax coating means that they will not decompose very quickly and the plants will need to be removed from the cup to transplant. Not so good for small spaces.
Summary:
The small cups were my favorite, dispite the markings bleeding and being hard to read. They were big enough that watering once a day was fine, but small enough not to take up a lot of space. I do not like egg cartons, as they need to be watered too often. One option I used for this was to put them in a tray with water. The water wicked up the paper and allowed me to have more time between waterings, but I was worried about over watering as well. I like the yogurt containers, as they are something I already have a bunch of, and could use a use for. They do take up a lot of space though. I think the best option is to start in the small cups, giving you the space to have lots of seedlings. Keep the best, and transplant them into yogurt containers. Then into the ground. The only problem is that the small cups need to be purchased for the purpose. At least they would at my house, as we don't use them in the bathroom. If you use them to rinse after brushing, then you can keep them and use them for seed starting pots.
Tired Garden Updates
I 've made several changes to the Tired Garden site. If you have not looked recently, I suggest checking it out. Below are the highlights.
Plant Index
The plant index is now finished on the back end. There is, however, only one plant listed (the luffa gourd). I'll be adding more plants to it very soon. I also have not yet created a listing for the index. I'll have the listing finished today, and should have plenty of plants listed by the end of the month. If you would be interested is helong to add plants to the index, let me know. I'l love some help in making this a great resource for you.
Gourdous Music
Alright, I slacked in the article creation arena. I only got one new article written. It is a gun one though. Come and read about all the musical gourds that are around.
As usual, comments, complaints, suggestions, are always welcome. Just respond to this message, or use our contact form.
