STARTING SEEDS

 

I have only had slight luck growing plants from seed. It often takes quite a few seeds to give me just one viable plant that actually gets beyond the seedling stage. I obviously still have much to learn. The good thing about gardening, though, is that one can never know too little or too much. My calendula gave me plenty of seeds, and I've planted a few that sprouted, but could not get much further because of the dry conditions and the water-restrictions. The trick to starting seeds is to keep the soil moist. I have certainly not been able to do that for all of summer. So I'm changing tack, and finding a different solution: some will be popped into pots, and some into a makeshift potager. By that I mean recycling my deep cardboard boxes that my groceries come in: these will be filled with soil and compost and placed next to each other to form a sort of potager kitchen garden. This will help maintain the moistness of the soil while I wait for germination.

Last summer was a huge lesson in what is wise in a drought. Although I know,  in my enthusiasm to see things grow, I always end up being more hopeful than I ought to be, and lose quite a few seeds in the process. However, I have found cheaper alternatives instead of those tiny packs of seeds from the garden aisle. Check out your health store, or your local Dischem's natural aisle for seeds like flax and poppy that come in large quantities, and certainly do sprout! I also buy mustard seed and coriander seed from the spice section in Foodlovers. And Dischem sells dried herbs for teas and tinctures, and that's where I have picked up a load of fennel, caraway and celery seeds for a pittance! So gather seeds from any source you can, then you won't feel too heartsore when some of them just don't take.

Watch out for weeds. Some of them can be good for you, and some are poisonous... and quite often they come up along with your seedlings, and initially it can be difficult to tell them apart. So maybe we should take a look at some common weeds...