My backyard has been treating us to all sorts of delights lately! These beauties were tucked away in a far back corner of the yard and I almost didn’t see them because they were bent over due to their weight. Shame on me for not staking them up properly. I saved what I could and will def post ’em up for next year. Man, gotta love a mature, Seattle yard!
Finally! Some of my seeds are starting to pop up! The first round of planting was a bit mixed as far as sprouting went. The lettuce, carrots and peas did just fine but my zucchini, squash, broccoli, kale and cauliflower did not. I’m planting the second round this week and hopefully this lil heat wave will do the trick. For back up, I’ve planted another round of the newly dubbed “more difficult” seeds in my mini greenhouse. If that doesn’t do the trick, I don’t know what will. Oh to be a gardener in the PNW……sigh.
Just a lil arts and crafts going on in my kitchen this evening! I failed to label my starter seeds well so I’m going to be sure I at least get them right in the actual garden! #PNWgardeningproblems
Well if this darn rain just doesn’t stop, I’m never going to get my dream garden started! It’s been a soggy month here in the PNW and my garden is a mud pit still. I’m scanning the weekly temperatures hoping for those rays of sunshine :-/
To get into the gardening spirit, without having to go outside, I’ve planted a few starter seeds in two mini greenhouses. I thought I would do a bit-o-experimenting – I used eggshells (thank you Pinterest) in one tray and these premade coconut husk disks in the other. Seeds include broccoli, cauliflower and kale. The best sunlight in our house is in our living room, so I’ve rigging up some temporary shelving next to the big window so these babies get some good sunlight.
Um yeah, about that….after a few days, I noticed a total funk in our house and it smelled, wait for it, like rotten eggs! Those darn egg shells stanked up my house! I can’t sit on my couch without smelling them. Fellow gardeners, if you are going to use egg shells to start your seeds, make sure you do it outside… in a green house…that’s well ventilated. And not only did they smell, the seeds did not sprout in a good 40% of them while my coconut disks has a 90% sprout rate (is that even a thing?)
So lesson learned: eggshells DO NOT make for stellar seed sprouting containers.
And my garden obsession continues……I’ve been researching local companies that sell organic, non-GMO seeds and so far the Seattle Seed Co. has fit the bill. I’ve placed one order with them so far and they are q-u-i-c-k. I swear, I received the seeds the next day!
I also ordered this handy growing chart thingy. It will be a nice reminder come spring when my head is spinning with seeds and starter plants (oh, and a 1,100 person Luncheon)! I felt I was very restrained in my order – I only bought 8 seed packs even though I wanted to put every single one in the cart. I do want to try out one or two other companies, you know, to spread the love a little. I’ll report back on those companies at a later date. Stay tuned……