Monday, April 2, 2018

Starting Seeds

 I can't wait for planting time to arrive, so I pre-sprouted some lettuce leaf basil seeds and some blue bedder salvia seeds, leftover from last year.
Grow Lettuce Leaf Basil Seeds in containers or your organic herb or vegetable garden. Lettuce leaf basil has large, puckered leaves that are nice in pesto.low purple flowering plant - Google Search

My method is simple. Take a paper towel, fold it and wet it thoroughly and place it on a dish. Sprinkle seeds and cover with plastic wrap or a zip-lock bag. In a few days little white rootlets will show and then you know which seeds are worth planting.
This time I saved some egg cartons and planted my new sprouted seeds in them. Cutting off the top and using it for a tray, and poking a drainage hole in each recess, I then dampened my potting mix in a big bowl in the sink. Why it took me this long to figure out this simple and cheap method...all I can say is Duh!
Here's a close-up of the once black basil seeds. They are now white-ish and covered with a gooey layer which forms after a few days in the wet environment of the paper towel/plate. I use a tweezer to pick up the seeds and place them into the soil.  I hope you can see the tiny rootlet coming out if the seeds.
Then out comes the trusty Rubbermaid! Using the lid as a base and turning the bin upside down, I have a mini greenhouse!
There are a few more eggs to use up and I will make a third seed bed from that carton too.

2 comments:

  1. brilliant job. I especially like the Rubbermaid Greenhouse. I am going to use this idea when I teach a gardening class in the next few weeks.
    I have been pre-srouting seeds for a few years now--very good especially with older seed packages. Always learning something from YOU!!!

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  2. I love it! thanks for the great info. I'm going to give it a try!

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