seeds and social networking for plants.

i finally got around to planting my little recycled garden full of seeds this weekend, so i was pretty excited about that, although i'm a little concerned it was too late.  i know flowers suffer if you plant them too early, but what about planting them about a month late? harmless, right?

so, i started by hammering a couple holes into the bottom of each little egg-cubbie and container that i was using, for drainage. 

then i mixed together some vermiculite with some soil.  vermiculite adds fluffiness to the dirt (this stuff is lighter than air - seriously, the bag looks like it's going to weigh like 25 pounds, then it weighs like 8 oz. in reality when you pick it up).  this is to prevent the soil from getting too compacted, muddy and water-logged, which is important, since you need to water baby seeds a lot.

now you have soil and a container to put it in.  what kinds of seeds?  yay! all sorts of things!  i planted allysum, impatiens and bachelor buttons (flowers), parsley, mint, oregano and basil (herbs).  so, i'll have (hopefully) a good, solid little herb garden and some little flowers to plant around my little tree soon.

for those who haven't planted seeds before (did you skip third grade? everyone's planted seeds, right?) you want to make sure you don't cover them too deeply in soil - the little tiny seeds only need a very thin covering of dirt on them to protect them while they grow.  then, you can use a clean squirty bottle to spritz water on them frequently to make sure the soil is moist (without disturbing the seeds like a flood from a watering can might).

labelling the seeds is highly recommended, so you know what's what.  i used these reusable little plastic stake markers.  also, keep the packets the seeds come in, so when it's time to put them in the big dirt outside, you know the proper spacing, sunlight needs, etc.  it's tempting to want to stick the packets *in* the dirt with the seeds, but with how much water you're going to give the little seeds, don't do it - the paper packets get messy and illegible that way.

(sorry for the sideways image. i have no idea why it does that to portrait-photos).
anyway. i also transplanted my sweet apple-scented geranium into a real pot, along with my aloe plant.  i got both of them at the philadelphia flower show, and i hope they'll work in their respective pots (i've been a geranium killer lately, but i'm crossing my fingers on this one). 

a couple weeks ago, through flickr, i got a little note from some people who were starting what seemed like a social networking site for plants (although, that makes little to no sense - i guess i mean a socially networky site for people to talk about and post their plants. oh, i don't know...) called myfolia. needless to say, i do think this is a pretty fun idea, i'm just not sure i'd have time to update it often enough, with the ten bazillion things i have going on.  but you should try it!

Comments

[Scott Bulger Photography]

I'm just starting my seeds this week as well. Since I can't put them outside around here until June 1st, I have to keep them indoors for almost 6 weeks, so I have to make sure that they don't get too leggy.