Seed starting

March 31, 2023January 12, 2024

Georgia Power Presentation

Created & Presented by Cari Misseri & Karin Blankenship

Presentation delivered to Georgia Power Retirees, March 2020.

Notes on Georgia Power gardening talk. 30 mins. This is a very rough copy of the notes I made for our presentation. I will include them with the presentation file itself soon.

Gardening for Fun, Form. & Function

Gardening should be fun! Don’t stress or try to make it perfect. Just be creative and enjoy it.

Sun, Soil, Water Simple

We will talk about: Spring Basics, Seeds & Plants, Container Gardening, Raised Beds, and Pest Control.

1. Spring basics

Organizing, Planting, and Dividing

Plants to add for spring interest-1 perennial & 1 shrub/tree for each season

Spring- Tiarella-Native Plant. & Azalea

Summer Interest/Great native pollinator plant-Echinachea-Coneflower. Abelia

Summer/Fall/Butterfly attractor-Salvia. Beautyberry-native

Winter- Pansies. Camellia

Planning

Take stock of your seeds or supplies, and see what you want/need for the upcoming year. Our last average frost is April 15th, so I usually wait until then to plant my raised beds. Now is a great time to plan for & plant seeds indoors for your spring and summer veggie garden.

2. Seed starting vs buying plants

3. Container gardening.

ALWAYS HAVE DRAINAGE HOLES IN CONTAINERS

4. Raised beds.

My beds are 3’ x 8’. I have 3 wood beds. Leave bottom open to native soil-no landscape fabric wanted. Untreated wood for edibles

Dirt is ⅓ native soil, ⅓ soil conditioner, ⅓ compost-I like mushroom compost. Add in an organic fertilizer like Espoma garden tone when you build the soil. Can also use a pre mixed soil, or straight compost. Plant dwarf or smaller varieties.

Fertilize throughout the seaon. I like organic fertilizer for many reasons but here are three:

Better for plants- slower release, no burning, slower more even growth and better plants

Better for people-natural fertilizer creates tastier vegetables hands down, no chemical concerns

Better for the environment-only use what you need, and not more. Then the excess does not run off into the streams, rivers and lakes, and create problems.

5. Responsible Pest Control

Encourage good stewardship and organic gardening and pest control where possible. Pick them off, or spray with water as 1st pest control method. Always read the instructions thoroughly before treating anything

September 15, 2021September 16, 2021

Seed Starting Fall 2021

I tried several different methods of seed starting over the last 8 years, before I settled on this one. Good seeds plus good seed mix means you can’t go wrong, unless slugs are involved.

My best choice ever (seed startingwise) was to try a new product from my favorite organic fertilizer company, Espoma.

Their Espoma Seed Starting Mix is part of what made this my best garden year ever! Another part was the superior seeds I purchased from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

I had some old container trays that I recycled & brought home from Cofer’s when I worked there last year. They have drainage holes and are perfect for starting seeds, but any container with drainage holes can be used.

I transplanted from the seed trays into recycled 4 pack trays on Sept 4th. I mix 1/2 organic mushroom compost, 1/2 organic topsoil, & add Espoma Plant Tone. Mix these together well, and transplant seedlings. They stay in that soil mix until they are ready for transplanting into the raised beds.

Transplanted from the seed tray to 4 packs

I started the first round of seeds in mid August, but had a slugtastrope & had to plant more seeds. I now move the baby seedling trays onto the deck at night to avoid slugs. This fall, I planted Broccoli, Kale, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Collards & Cauliflower in seed trays.

Some types of veggie seeds achieve best results by direct sowing them into the place they will grow until harvest. This past week, I direct sowed carrots & radishes.

The babies are getting some good gentle rain today! Sept 15th

New posts coming soon about the expanded garden bed construction, summer harvests & more fall planting details. These babies are almost ready to go into the ground! I will likely plant them around end of September.

Happy Gardening!

September 29, 2017September 16, 2021

Organic Herbs & Vegetables, August-September

I will update info and add links on all plants grown this year soon. Here are some pics, and a few details, on the garden happenings the last few months. Whew! Too busy to write much now, but check back soon. I welcome any southeastern gardener’s input, or anyone’s thoughts at all. Thanks!

3rd amazing Basil harvest this year, at least! My husband & I made this & some other herbs & ingredients into my first homegrown, homemade pesto later that week.

But wait … there’s more!

We used almonds instead of pine nuts in the pesto, and it was incredible. I gave it away as a gift, but had some left over. It was one of the most flavorful and delightful mixtures I have ever tasted. Using many fresh herbs from my garden including Basil, Rosemary, Parsley, and Oregano makes me happy. Yay!

May 31, 2017September 16, 2021

Seeds & Raised Beds 2017

I planted a multitude of seeds this year. I am amazed how many herbs and veggies fit in the two 3′ x 8′ raised, organic garden beds. We will see what survives & thrives in 2017.

Herbs grown from seed:

Parsley, Marjoram, Thyme, Lovage, Basil, Coriander/Cilantro, Catnip, Chamomile, Anise, Summer Savory, & Chives

April 2- the first round of seeds, in shade for a week to acclimate to outside

Veggies:

Peppers-Jalapeno, Tabasco grown from seed. I bought a Poblano (which the deer immediately destroyed), a Green Bell, & an Orange Baby Bell pepper.

Tomatoes: Cherry, Yellow Pear, Early Girl-from seed

Cucumbers-Pickling & Bush Beans- from seed

I started the 1st round of seeds indoors in early March- a few weeks later than usual. Those seeds became the plants above- pic taken before planting in the raised beds in mid April!

April 20th– (a little later than I like) I transplanted the first round, after prepping the beds. I also added a second round of new seeds directly to the soil. The Rosemary, Oregano, Lemon Balm, Peppermint, and Parsley survived the winter.

I added a second round of transplants and seeds in early May. Directly sowed more cucumber, bush beans & more tomato seeds. I added my organic, homemade compost from the Earth Machine, mushroom compost, organic pine bark mulch, and native clay soil to both beds.

This year, I have an infestation of what we call tater or pill bugs, (but they have many names). So far, they’ve only munched my cucumber leaves a little. I will leave them alone, as they don’t seem to be doing much harm. They are very interesting creatures, notable for their ability to clean heavy metals from soil.

April 16, 2013September 16, 2021

Leftover seeds & 2012 Harvested seeds Pod Greenhouse, More seeds, Chart Tools

SeedPrep

The simple chart below keeps track of type of seed, how many per pod, planting date, when germinated, and when removed from the greenhouse. It has been so helpful to know how many plants sprout and how long they take to be ready to go outside.

In early March, I started Cucumber, two varieties of Tomatoes, Jalapeno, Hot Peppers, Sweet & Lemon Lime Basil, Parsley, Oregano, Rosemary, Dill, Cilantro, Thyme, & Catnip seeds to plant in my first raised bed.

I have been wanting to build a raised bed for years. With the plants I chose, I hope to can salsa, dill pickles, and tomato juice. After only a few short weeks, the seedlings are doing well. The bed is built and nearly ready for the seedlings. I will post pics of that process soon.