Spring Ahead

Just finished planting these sweet and hot peppers with Nikii.  Selecting seeds and containers boils down to your taste buds and personality, but it's the growing medium ('dirt') that can make magic or mishap. From 'soil-less mixes' of mined or manufactured products, to a home-brew of compost and your neighbors' chicken scat--you've got choices.  Well-sifted compost is great, and can be lightened up with some moss. 

 

If your compost pile seems to be in a perpetual state of winter, with banana peels and avocado pits stubbornly frozen in suspended animation, consider a box with some holes and a few handfuls of red worms from the local bait store.  

You'll have finely grained, beautifully decomposed compost even in winter's icy maw.  If you cook like me, (or Paul), you may need a few boxes and a few pounds of worms.  Deadas (animal matter) can't go in, and neither should dairy nor too much bread.  All manner of veg is o.k., and the worms will even eat your paper scraps! Check out Michigan Energy Options for lots more sustainable solutions and a good resource for small- or large-scale worm bins.

 

Once you've got a nice batch of growing medium, fill your containers most of the way and water to near saturation.  That means pretty dang wet--but never muddy.  I do this by soaking them from the bottom--not recommended for usual watering technique, but perfect for prepping lots of containers--just set containers in a shallow tray of water (or the sink).  Place the seeds on the moist soil. I'd say one or two per container, usually.  (You'll pinch or cut off the weaker one later--never pull to cull, as you'll disturb the intertwined roots.)  Then sift or finely sprinkle some dry soil on top until the seeds are buried the correct depth.  

For peppers that's not very deep, and since they take (up space) so long, I chose a small plug tray to maximize the coveted space next to the heat vent where germination temperatures will be ideal. The cover will keep soil surface from drying to a cake (especially near a draft).  Some plastic wrap or a plastic bag works well for a cover, too.

 

Once the peppers sprout, its time to move them to a bright (South) window or under proper lights (we'll get to that in a week or so!)  Meanwhile, signs of spring abound...

    

Tell me why this robin was doing a turkey impression...

and click the video below for a taste of today's spring-ahead 

walkabout.  Lansing's backyard birds may be clandestine no 

longer as talks continue (more next week). 

Comments

[nikii]

big fatty robin - what's it been eating?

[MrBrownThumb]

I like to start my seeds in pure coco coir. I find it is cheap and if some catastrophe should befall them I don't feel bad about tossing out all the "soil." Once they sprout I transplant the healthy ones into the real stuff, since it can be kind of pricey.