Seed Starting

Garden Goals for 2019

March 14, 2019 by Cathi Leave a Comment

If you follow my page on Facebook, you might remember that I LOVE going to Mother Earth News Fair every year. I love sitting in classes and workshops all day learning about these hobbies that fascinate me.

Every year I use it as a time to evaluate what I’m doing gardening and sustainability-wise and what I’d like to attempt for the coming year. At the 2018 fair I decided that I would be getting bees and chickens. Keep in mind that I had nowhere to put them at the time, but I resolved that I would indeed be getting bees and chickens. And I did. I also started seed starting with soil blocking which I had never done before at all. That was a LOT for one year. So what about 2019? What new endeavors am I undertaking this year?

Well, this year is largely about improving what I’m already doing.

Bees: I seem to have gotten through the winter with two thriving hives. We aren’t quite in the clear quite yet, but so far so good. I really want to actually have a honey harvest this summer. If I’m able to harvest honey, I will consider that a success.

Chickens: I’m going to add three hens to my flock and start to sell eggs.

Financial: I sat in an extended workshop led by Joel Salatin about homesteading and he touched on the need to keep specific financial records about your farm and it got an idea stirring around in my head that my endeavors should be at least somewhat self sustaining. I did some quick math and if I get three more hens and I sell my extra eggs, at least my chickens would be self sustaining. I also want to find somewhere to sell the honey I am hoping to harvest in July.

Cheese: I have been interested in making cheese for a while and this is on my list 19 things I want to do in 2019. I want to make mozzarella and I want to make a hard cheese.

Kombucha: I went to a hands on workshop on brewing kombucha and currently have some brewing in my pantry.

Seed Starting: I really want to up my game on seed starting. I’d love to really minimize the number of plants I buy at the garden center, both flowers and veggies. Home gardening struggles to break even anyway, and then if you’re buying plants for about as much as you could purchase the food at the store anyway then it really doesn’t make sense. (Except for the love of doing it, of course.) So far I’ve been really happy with how things have been turning out. The main challenge for me in seed starting is thinking enough in advance to get them started before it’s too late. It’s all a matter of planning.

What about you? What’re you planning in 2019 for your garden? How will you kick up your game a notch?

Seed Starting With Soil Blocking. A Basic How-To

March 4, 2019 by Cathi Leave a Comment

So now you’re convinced that you need to try seed starting by soil blocking. How do you get started?

I mentioned that I started after going to a class by Lisa Mason Ziegler at Mother Earth News Fair in Belton, Texas last year. She has a cut flower farm and is pretty much the queen of this. Her website, The Gardener’s Workshop has complete instructions for the whole process. She has even added online courses.

For me, I started by clearing out some shelves in my garage. I figured I already had shelf space and there was really no reason to purchase more shelves and try to figure out where to put them. Besides, who can’t stand to clear out a garage a bit. My garage is not heated or anything, but it is insulated and it doesn’t get that cold in Texas anyway.

After that I went on my old pal Amazon and purchased gro lights and heated seed mats. Also, be sure to order your soil blockers. These are the ones I chose:

Then next you’ll need to assemble the ingredients for the soil blocking mix.

16 cups sifted peat moss or coco fiber
4 cups sifted compost
¼ cup greensand
¼ cup rock phosphate powder

I use the coco fiber rather than the peat moss because it is a renewable resource. I also use worm castings rather than the sifted compost because I have a worm bin so it is something I have available.

Here is a video from Lisa where she shows you how to actually make the blocks.

Lisa’s FAQ about seed starting with soil blocking.

Lisa’s “All Things Soil Blocking”.

If you just avail yourself of these resources, you’ll be successfully starting seeds and filling your garden with plants!

Five Reasons You Should Try Seed Starting

March 3, 2019 by Cathi Leave a Comment

Preparing here to start some zinnia seeds. The soil blocks are ready and I'm about to insert the seeds. — The soil blocks here are ready for the zinnia seeds

I have grown to love seed starting using the soil blocking method and you should too. Read on for five reasons why.

At the Mother Earth News Fair last year I took a workshop by Lisa Mason Ziegler on the subject. I had never really done it. Not successfully anyway. I either bought starts at a garden center or stuck seeds in the ground and hoped for the best, with varying (mostly bad) results.

While I was still in the class I got on the Amazon app on my phone and ordered soil blockers that were waiting for me when I got home. The next weekend I assembled the ingredients for the soil blocking mix and got started. My maiden seed blocking voyage included zinnias and marigolds.

It was fascinating to watch the seedlings sprout. The germination rate was amazing. Pretty much all of the 16 blocks resulted in a flower.

A Tray of Broccoli and Brussels Sprout seedlings — This is a tray of broccoli and brussels sprouts seedlings.

The thing about starting seeds inside in controlled conditions is that almost all of the seeds germinate (assuming you have good seeds) and do so quickly. When you put seeds in the ground, you can’t control the temperature and light that they receive. In fact, this year two of the things I have started are lettuce and spinach. A couple of weeks before I started them indoors, I had put some seeds outside in the garden. They are currently just barely visible above the soil. The indoor seeds have surpassed the outdoor ones despite getting started a full two weeks later. What a waste of time and garden space! Why wouldn’t I just always choose to start them inside, and move them when they’re ready to thrive outside?

A couple of trays of seedlings under lights in my garage. — I have these trays on top of other things so that they are closer to the lights. I don’t want them getting too leggy.

Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

In summary, starting seeds indoors is better than starting seeds outdoors or buying starts because:

You can control conditions indoors so that seeds germinate quickly and well.
You can get a “jump start” on your growing season by creating optimal conditions indoors for seeds to get started.
You will save money vs buying plants at the garden center.
You can choose from a much greater variety of plants when buying seeds vs whatever is available at the garden center for plant starts.
It’s just as easy to start more seeds than you have room to use. It takes no more work at all. So, you can share with friends and family or even sell the plants!

This year I have been eagerly waiting for the time to start seeds this year. So far I have started tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, basil, sweet pea, zinnias, bell peppers, lettuce and spinach. As I write this, my area is having what I hope is the last freeze of the year. When I get back I will be planting these seedlings outside.

All of my current seedlings. Ready to go outside as soon as this last freeze passes. — All of these seedlings will find a home in the ground as soon as our frost date has passed.

Why Mess With Seed Starting (and How to Get Started)

January 14, 2019 by Cathi Leave a Comment

This time of year in Texas, it’s time for cole crops.

I bought some broccoli and califlower starts in the fall and put them in the garden. Easy peasy. A few weeks later, I was harvesting. The thing is, the difference between the cost I paid for the starts, and the cost I would pay for broccoli at the grocery store isn’t very big.

Last year at Mother Earth News Fair, I took a class from Lisa Ziegler from The Gardener’s Workshop. She teaches about soil blocking for seed starting. Last summer I tried my hand at starting some flower seeds and had success. So, I decided to start some broccoli seeds and some brussels sprouts seeds. The pack of seeds was probably $5.00 and I can end up with several dozen plants. Obviously from an economy standpoint, seed starting is a winner.

When you go buy starts, you get to choose what the local garden store has chosen to carry. When you start seeds, you can order any sort of seeds and grow whatever variety you choose. The world is basically your oyster when you start seeds.

Soil blocking couldn’t be easier. Once you spend a few dollars on the soil blockers, it is almost free. The plants do really well. Here are the ones I bought:

Here is the bigger of the two soil blockers.

Here is the smaller of the two.
This is the one you will use mostly.

I highly suggest you try your hand at soil blocking. Come back and let me know in the comments how it goes. Here are photos of the broccoli and brussels sprouts I have going right now: