Seedling and Garden Update!

Hello All!

If you've been reading this blog, you might be wondering what ever became of my seedling project.  Here's an update:

I successfully sprouted two rounds of seedlings in my Aerogarden and transplanted them to small biodegradable containers.  The seeds that came up quickly and developed quickly are as follows:

Sweet Alyssum (purple and white)
Morning Glory
Marigold
German Chamomile (note: seeds are tiny so I ended up accidentally pouring like 20 seeds in each seed sponge b/c they were so hard to work with.  Next time I need a plan to separate the seeds or something.)

I would definitely grow these again from seed.  I'm an impatient person by nature so seeds that have a long germinating time kill me.  Seriously. 

Seeds that took a long time to sprout:

Pansies/violas (I might start them from seed again next year, but I'd start them a month earlier - possibly as early as January so I have mature plants by April.  They are slooooooow but the first round finally germinated and developed so now I have some pansy seedlings.  I planted a second round of the seeds and am still waiting for them to develop.  So slow!)

Columbine (FAILURE)- apparently these guys take about 22 days to sprout, which is about 21 days longer than my attention span, so before they could even germinate, I threw them out and planted something else in the seed sponge.  Ain't nobody got time fo' dat!  If I decide to cultivate columbines anywhere in my garden, I'll just buy some from the nursery.  Too much trouble!

Wild Violet (FAILURE) - the germination time for these seeds exceeded my patience level so they got tossed as well.  Maybe I'll do a direct sow in a pot outside when the weather warms up.  We'll see.

Bee balm - didn't have success with this germinating.  I'll do a direct sow in a pot when the weather warms up.  It's supposed to grow like a weed and it's a hot weather plant, so I feel confident I'll have success with it outside.

Still waiting for:

Hyssop and Shasta Daisy - I planted these in my second round of seedlings in the Aerogarden.  A few of them have started but they're still tiny little things.  Hopefully they'll come around by mid April.

Seeds I haven't planted yet:

Petunia
Borage
Bachelor's Buttons
Nasturtium
Chives
Parsley (curly and flat leaf)
Cilantro
Lemon Balm

All of these will be sown directly in pots when the weather warms up, or, if I'm feeling ambitious I'll start them in the Aerogarden and then instead of the intermediate seed pots, I'll just plant the seed sponge outside. 

Right now I have about 4 dozen little seedlings that need watering at least twice a week and it's killing me!  It takes about 20 minutes to water them all.  I carry the palates over to the sink and water them there.  I try to saturate each one without displacing any soil, so I water each one multiple times until the soil and container are soaking wet.  We've had a cold spell these last few days so the furnace has been running more (even though we keep it on 66 F) so they've been drying out more quickly. 

My Pelargoniums ("Scented Geraniums")

All six plants are doing well but need to be transplanted soon.  Larger pots will mean less frequent watering (I hope) and happier plants.  But the plants are still alive for now, which is good news.  Hopefully I can stick them outside in a month or so when the weather has warmed up, and hopefully they will grow and flourish in the summer sun. I also want to try propagating them by cutting off leaves.  Maybe later after I'm sure the plants are very happy.


Outside Garden Plan:

They're calling for snow Sunday night into Monday morning, so my plans of planting stuff in the backyard have evaporated (the landscapers are working right now even as I type this and will finish up next week - yay!).  I'll have to wait a few weeks to buy stuff and plant it - after the danger of a hard frost has passed.  I'm trying to be patient, but patience is not my strong suit.  I have a feeling if I stick with gardening, though, I will have to learn patience! 

Also, completely unrelated, I'm working the Bowie Green Expo for Mama Cocoa on April 13th so that'll be fun.  And a few weeks after that is the Bowie/Crofton Garden Club Plant Sale.  So fun!!!

Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post.  I'll try to post some next time.  Happy Gardening!