Mariana (toes.gather.com) sent out a little reminder for members to post something if they've started their gardens yet so I thought I'd publish a few pix of the seedlings that I've started indoors -- awaiting the weather to warm up a bit before planting them outside.
Outside, here in Sonoma County, Northern California, it's been rainy and cold for what seems like two months now. Of course, "cold" is such a relative term. To us, here, "cold" is anything less than 65 degrees F. (my apologies to those in somewhat more frigid climes...).
When you add this to the fact that I live in a little, one-bedroom "singlewide" manufactured sometime in the late 50s or early 60s -- out in the middle of what I call "the wild hinterlands" of Cloverdale (where high-speed Internet access is some kind of futuristic "dream"... oh, well... someday... **sigh**) -- where space is not only "scarce" but practically "non-existent", starting plants indoors from seed becomes an extreme challenge in logistics.
For instance, here are some of my seedling trays (fashioned from plastic, microwaveable, "Ramen noodle soup" trays slitted on the bottom for drainage) that live (for the meantime, anyway) on my dryer near a small window:
Pictured are (taller, most numerous) "Mescalun Mix" salad greens, (in an egg carton) morning glories and flowering annual mix, "Roma" and "Yellow Pear" tomatoes, bell peppers and some ornamental grasses and annual flowering plants...
I also have some wire mesh "shelves" that I string up with wire to the windows in the (**ahem** for want of a better word) "livingroom" in the late winter to accomodate such seed trays as the one pictured below (made from a styrofoam egg carton with holes punched in the bottom) planted with portulaca, dianthus and zinnias and a few 4" pots (such as are pictured in the next photo).
Curiously missing some of their hardware, two of the windows in the tiny kitchen have never worked and were mysteriously missing their "inside screens" so I line up 4" pots along their length of (in the case of the photos below) tomato, lima bean and cucumber seedlings which I have already transplanted from their original egg cartons and around which I have attached lengths of elastic to keep them from falling in case someone accidentally slams the front door located right next to the windows in question ;o):
On sunny days (which there haven't been too many of lately as you can probably tell by the looks of things outside in that last photo), I take all of the seedlings outside to the deck for the day for fresh air and sunshine and then bring them in at night.
I'm about totally out of any space in which to put any more seedlings until the weather clears up some and these can be put outside... Hopefully it won't be TOO long...
'Til next time, friends, from the ole singlewide here the wild hinterlands -- keepin' my fingers crossed for spring SOON --
luv,
jean f.
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Comments: 25
Looks like you are off to a great start!
I love your big deck and I know you probably spend lots of time outside too. I love your setup and thanks for doing this - it will help several of us get started! Salud
Yes, Vicky, seedlings are especially susceptable to "damp off" (what non-nursery people call "root rot"). The only counteractive measure to this condition is fresh air and sunshine (hence the reason why I take the little guys outside every chance I get)!
I'm so glad to have inspired you, dear Mariana! Yes, indeed... Except for my considerable "Gathering time", I DO spend a great deal of time outdoors in the nice weather. These 4 (very rectangular) walls DO tend to close-in on one quite easily... :o)
Jean, well, that's great about your friend - she/he sounds very interesting!!! I need to check all of your posts, Jean - I am very behind I realize. Salud
I had several windows given to me by my Mom when she had her doublewide redone and two sliding glass doors given to me by a friend when she remodeled her house... I was going to use all of them for building a cold frame but that's when we got word that we had to move because the place was being sold that we'd lived in for 14 years before that. :( I had to get rid of most of my building materials because we had to move to a tiny trailer with no place to put anything. I lost TONS of plants that I had to give away or sell and most of the things I normally used to build with... So sad... But I still have to finish the greenhouse I started then I won't need a coldframe!
Tonia, I try always to use what's free FIRST before I buy anything ... that's assuming, of course, that I can AFFORD to buy anything...
A coldframe, Mariana, is, for all practical purposes, a "box" -- usually with no "bottom" that has glass on top that you can lift up to be able to plant plants inside. It works like a miniature greenhouse.
Awww... How precious, Cristina! They ARE rather "cute", aren't they? ...lol... ;o)
Mariana, I have a wonderful Sunset book published in the 50s all about building "garden structures" which also has some fantastic work centers and shade houses, cold frames, etc. in it... If not for copyright infringement, I would definitely publish some of the things here for other Gather members...
Yes, Lynn... With the cardboard ones, you don't even have to take the seedlings out -- just tear the "cells" apart and plant the whole thing!
Hi, Miz Lynn! I, too, was employed in the nursery industry for about two decades! I was a "transplanter", general worker and then greenhouse manager for a large wholesale nursery and I've also worked as a propagator and nursery manager in other wholesale/retail nurseries (bonzai and perennials) and I've worked in an aquatics nursery as a sales person and a truck driver/delivery person. Glad to have provided a source of inspiration to you! :o)
Such a thrill to watch plants sprout and grow!
Thank you for my heart racing, Jean! :-)
For the record, my last home had a window in the bathroom/laundry room. My seedlings always did favor being brought up on the dryer, where they had heat from below and a little light from the window.
Thank YOU, Master Poet Curt, for taking the time to view and comment! :o)
Thanks so much, Carol!
Aaaahhhh, my friend, TB... Then you discovered "the secret" quite independently... ;o) The little seedlings DO seem to do well there... :o)