Project #1: Seedlings: Day 5

Accused of attempted murder.

So this morning I get up to make the caffeine I require in order to survive, and I discover that Gala Apple V had been knocked over in the night. And it was clear who the antagonist was.

Caught returning to the scene of the crime.

I'm pretty sure that it was accidental, as my cat is actually normally very good around plants. Although I've caught her a few times before rubbing her face against the seedlings, making them tip precariously, this is the first time one actually fell over. As you can see, I have yet to buy a tray for my impromptu apple pots, so maybe once I get one they'll have more stability.

I fixed Gala Apple V back up - fortunately, only a bit of the top soil was disturbed, the seed stayed nicely put away - and will buy them all a tray today.

Besides that, I will have yet another look for Bee Balm. I don't want to buy it online because then I will be tempted to buy other things as well (you know, to 'make it worth the shipping', that age-old justification of online shopping addicts everywhere). I don't even get paid until this Friday and I already have plans for all of my spare cash.

Nothing has sprouted above the soil yet, and I'm very disappointed. It's hard not to try and take another look at how the garlic is doing, but I've resisted so far. Tomorrow, I'm not so sure. Savory is supposed to be 5-21 days to germinate, so there's a tiny possibility that I'll see it soon.

Turns out that gardening from seed isn't ideal for the impatient. Maybe this will be good for me. Maybe I'll become veritably Zen-like in my patience and lofty moral character. Or, maybe I'll end up digging furtively through soil every night to see if my garlic has grown another millimeter yet.

Project #1: Seedlings: Days 2 and 3

Since I was at the store on the 1st (Canadian Tire, if you must know, which is the only place I've found so far that is carrying seeds this early) I picked up some flower seeds: Candy Stripe Cosmos; Viola (Comedy Mixed), and Dwarf Munstead Lavender.

They're all able to be grown in containers (I hope!) and I chose them to draw more bees and butterflies come Summer. Also, I figure that the lavender might have some other uses, such as in bathwater (or in cooking, if I'm feeling particularly adventurous).

Estimated germination times:

Cosmos: 7-10 days
Viola: 20-50 days
Lavender: 20-50 days

I'm keeping an eye out for Bee Balm. If I can't find any in the next month or so I suppose I'll have to order it online, which is an expense I don't need, but I'm determined to have the damn things.

Then, today, I was cutting up some fruit for breakfast and decided to try my hand at planting some more seeds. Unfortunately, the only two seeds I got from the Moro Blood Orange were both cut with the knife, one more severely than the other:

The two injured Moro Blood Orange seeds.

The organic Gala Apple seeds, with the exception of one, escaped unscathed:

The one seed now has an impressive scar to show the ladies but his life will never be the same.

 I put all the seeds in water to keep wet while I finished breakfast, and then later in the day I planted them. The orange seeds I put together, since they're both damaged anyway. The apple seeds I put in individual pots, labeling the cut one. I made up five apple pots all together, throwing away the other pips, since on the off-chance that they all sprout I don't actually need a forest of apple trees in my living room, even though that sounds really awesome.

I'm not sure about the germination times for the oranges and apples - I figure I'll just wait it out and see. If nothing happens, I'll try some other methods beyond simply planting them straight from the fruit.

A confession: I got impatient tonight (already!) and took a look at how the garlic was doing. It does seem to be growing a bit. I covered it back up with soil and am going to try to leave it alone now.

Project #1: Seedlings: Day One (Jan. 31st)

As mentioned, I'm making an effort to document my various projects and experiments. Here is my first project - starting seedlings for an apartment/patio garden.

This is what I started with on January 31st:

Peat seeding pots; seed starter; potting mix; various seeds; and a small black cat.

Seeds: Summer Savory; Flat Parsley; Cilantro; Lady Bug Cherry Tomato; Rosemary; Greek Oregano; Minette Basil; Sage, and Thyme.

I also had:

two cloves of garlic that had started sprouting - just a tiny bit of green on the top and really small nubby rootlets;

three mystery citrus seeds that I had put aside a week ago and can't recall if they were from a lemon, orange, or blood orange, which probably won't sprout because I left them to dry on the counter all week;

and three fresh organic lemon seeds, rinsed off and planted immediately.

The sprouting garlic and mystery citrus.

The garlic, ready to be planted - the only one not staring in a peat pot.

The various plants, watered and ready to be shoved behind a box next to the heater.

For those who are wondering how long results will take, these are the estimated germination times:

Basil: 7-14 days

Cilantro: 7-14 days

Oregano: 14-21 days

Parsley: 10-28 days

Rosemary: 7-28 days

Sage: 7-14 days

Savory: 5-21 days

Thyme: 14-28 days

Tomato: 7-14 days

Garlic: already sprouting

Mystery Citrus: ?

Fresh lemon: 2 weeks to 1 month, possibly longer

I planted three seeds to a pot, except for the two garlic and the ones with really tiny seeds, in which case it probably ended up more like 9 to a pot (oh well). My plan is to take the best seedling from each for my kitchen herb garden, and then plant the rest in big containers and let them flower outside to attract bees, butterflies, and neighbors for my cat to watch through the window.

The soonest I can expect any sprouts would be on Feb. 5th, possibly sooner if the garlic grows fast. I have no idea how quickly garlic grows, so we will have to wait and see.