do i start the seeds from scratch? isn't mold natural? will they recover and still be able to sprout?
let me start at the beginning. i am 30 years old. two years ago i started a tiny, tiny garden in four wine barrels on the back porch of my condo. i did this because two years before that, i discovered purely by accident just how much in love with nature i am. we began a yard rehab project at my boyfriend, matt's, grandmother's house. everything was torn out, and all new landscaping had to be put in. matt's family is full of people who just do it themselves. always. they are contractors who began with the inside of the house and than, after that was finished, deftly and seamlessly moved out of doors.
i fell in love. i learned plants, i learned scientific and common names, i learned how to build raised beds, build fountains, install drip line... it goes on and on. mostly i learned love. i learned that ecosystem is brilliant, and to me the wonder of a natural, earthly ecosystem is the most beautiful. the project was eventually finished but i was hooked. i tried and failed a lot at many indoor gardens from my tiny condo without a porch, and soon realized that just like me, my little orchids and ferns and herbs really needed the sun. so we moved. enter the wine barrels.
i still cant really believe just how much i grew out of four wine barrels. but here... see for yourself.
my tomatoes were most impressive. but there were white beans, lemon cucs, kale, cauliflower and more.
then we moved again. this time into a house...with a yard. the possibilities were suddenly endless! we moved here less than a year ago and most of what i bought was already started for me as it was a test garden. whats gonna grow where? again. my tomatos flourished as did the peppers, the lettuce, the corn, the collards and the cucumbers. there were some failures last season, but i think that happened mostly where the soil was not turned over and prepped well. we didn't have a lot of time before it was too late, to have anything. it was so rushed and experimental that there were bound to be a few casualties, but all in all, it was a great starter season. this year... i can do better...
so now some of the seeds are started. the soil is getting tilled and fueled up. and...
my pepper seeds got moldy.
some of your seeds will have a greater chance of survival if they are started in doors, especially when it is super frosty and cold, like it has been here in northern california. so a week an a half ago, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, strawberries and ground cherries started their germination process in my living room window. the tomatoes were the first to start:
then... slowly... everything else has popped up over the past week. cute little strawberries, elegant eggplants, tomatillos and a few straggly ground cherry sprouts. not the peppers though, they need to be hot and while i had them close to a heater vent, it still was too cold for them. pepper seeds love to sprout in temperatures between 75 and 85 degrees and my house varies between 65 and 70. i was assured that after 25 days or so, they would start to sprout, but then the paranoia began to set in. if worse came to worse, i could simply get some starters somewhere when it was time to plant outside (approx 7 weeks), but i just couldn't leave well enough alone and decided to tamper with them. i ended up reading a few solutions via the web, and opted to put them in a plastic baggie to keep them warmer with some humidity, since many people suggested it with good results. what they didn't warn me about was excess moisture. enter the mold. again, i turned to the internet.
today i got them a heating pad after learning that death is not certain for these tiny seeds who have yet to sprout. mold is a very natural thing and as long as the soil gets dried out, it will die on it's own and supposedly the mold will not harm any sprouts that get over the bog. i'm dying with anticipation. i can't wait to see if they can recover and sprout despite me, getting in their way, over thinking things as i often tend to do. nature is wider than me. i know. i learned my lesson and hopefully not tooooooo late!
today i also, just in case, started a fresh pan of pepper seeds. i delicately placed them on the heating pad as well, with their firm, only slightly damp soil. hope is sprouting inside me despite the lack of actual sprouts in the pan. it's always better to have a plan b. right?
Inspiring! Someday I'll be doing drip line, fountains and all that fun stuff too. :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting to hear you think that some things might not have gone well because of soil prep.
Did you use the beds in those situations or tilled soil?
Very cool to hear how well it went for you last year! A bountiful 2013 to you and Matt!
Hang in there, little peppers!
so. when we first moved in, i just planted things places and hoped they would grow. it was already almost may. the places that did not work were places where i had tried to kind of till the soil by hand with a shovel, but i didn't get down deep enough. one of the areas was full of bark where an old swing set had been and the bark had compacted so firmly that it was almost like particle board. the raised bed with the fluffy dirt was wear all of our good stuff grew really well. one of my first big lessons: your soil is so much more important than you think. it takes quality of texture as well as nutrients. COMPOST! it will help so much too...
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