2013 Plant Update

There hasn't been much progress with my outdoor seedlings Aaron and I started a couple weeks ago.  Today I made a little plant marker with a plastic dino for some Romaine lettuce.  We plant romaine every year, so I thought a fun marker would be appropriate.  I used an orange permanent marker to label the dino.  

We planted the lettuce in a wooden wine box.  Since we planted the lettuce there has been a few dustings of snow, and the temperatures have been hanging out in the mid-30s (Fº).  So there hasn't been any signs of growth, but hopefully they'll survive, and pop up once we get a few days in the 50s.  

Here are our Milk Jug Seedlings.  They are sitting against our house, on the southern facing side, which gets the most light.  No signs of growth yet, but I hear spring is on it's way.  

Here are our indoor herb plants.  They are doing really well I need to transfer them to larger containers already!  

This is my whole indoor garden.  I am also growing an orchid, some cacti, a gerber daisy, and an evergreen.  I just bought a basil plant.  The basil seeds I started hasn't been growing, because the soil I used was too dense, and took too long to dry out.  The little seedlings didn't get enough air to grow, and are extremely stunted.  That's what's in the two plastic cups in the center of the table.  

Here is a pic so you can see my lighting.  I use a single CFL in the highest wattage I can buy, with a Foto pendant from Ikea.  It seems to do a great job for my plants.  If the light can get a bird of paradise to bloom in the middle of winter, then it's doing good by me.  

Hope you enjoyed, and happy planting, chris!

Dreaming of Spring

I've had spring on the mind, and more specifically gardening.  I'm so excited to starte our first garden at this house.  Right now spring seems so far away.  Since the frost has set in, and all our herbs have died off I thought this would be the perfect time to start an indoor container garden.  I've been saving some plastic containers from cottage cheese, sour cream, and fresh parmesan cheese.  I also won a little Chia starter herb garden from a game of White Elephant with my family on Christmas, that's where the little clay pots and saucers are from.  

I always have a stash of spray paint, so I picked a few colors to spray the containers with.  Then to ensure proper drainage I used a small nail, and hammered several holes into the bottom of the plastic containers.  

Then I filled the container most of the way with soil, and sowed the seeds over the top.  

I added a handful of soil over the top, and watered the new plants.  

I painted a few other containers, but I have to wait a little longer for them to dry.  I'll share photos when they show some signs of growth.  

I'm excited for all the fresh herbs I will hopefully have!  I love using fresh herbs in my cooking, and I can't wait to use my own plants.  Happy DIYing, chris!