Finally My Spinach Seeds and More are Sprouting

I have been waiting about a month to see my spinach seeds to begin to sprout and I checked yesterday and found that some of them were beginning to grow.  It is always exciting to finally to see spinach seeds sprout instead of not doing anything.  I have had that happen before and it is not a good feeling.

Now that they are starting to sprout the gardening season will pick up real quick within a month or so.  Once they reach a certain size I will then bring them outside for awhile and then plant them into the ground.  Lettuce is another cool weather crop that I planted a couple of weeks ago and is also sprouting.  Check them out below.

Basically once I see plants sprouting all the work that I have put into it has not been a waste of time.  This is one of the reasons why planting seeds indoors is very important. 

Most of my beneficial flowers that I grow are growing as well.  The most important ones I would consider crucial include alyssum, dill, and sunflowers.

Dill

Alyssum is starting to look good and is beginning to grow rather quickly.

Here are the sunflowers that have sprouted the past couple of weeks or so.

The last thing I want to mention is the planting of cucumbers and cantaloupe.  Two plants that need a head start especially cantaloupe because they are similar to watermelons and are considered melons.

Three More Seeds Planted This Week

More plants were added this week and  I thought starting them a week or two earlier than last season would be a great way to increase harvest yields.  I don't normally plant tomatoes this early and they have done great when planted later, but this season I wanted to get them a much needed head start.

Instead of planting just a few of each cherry, steakhouse, and super sauce tomato I decided to grow three cherry, four steakhouse, and all twenty five seeds of super sauce.  Making sauce is what I will be focusing on this year and getting many Roma tomatoes will be my goal.  A head start for these plants makes perfect sense.

I planted one super sauce seed per pot as seen below.

I planted two cherry tomato seeds per pot.

I also had some more room underneath the fluorescent light that I am using and decided to plant three eggplants in plastic pots and six peppers in medium sized peat pots.  I still have more planting to do and once my spinach starts sprouting I will then use that light for more flowers, herbs, fruits, and vegetable plantings.

Perfect Time to Start Planting Sunflowers

Sunflowers are a very helpful plant to any organic garden and I love planting them every single year for attracting bees and other important insects.  I planted them today along with a similar type of flower called cosmos.  They do not look anything alike, but they are part of the same family which makes them related.

Cosmos Seeds

I also had some seeds left from yesterday when I planted my queen anne's lace that I decided to use the rest of them on a couple of green pots.  I also planted some more statice which happens to be a good flower for attracting insects as well.  High nectar plants are perfect for this reason.

Lettuce, Watermelon, and More Flowers Planted Indoors

Yesterday I started planting more flowers indoors in order to get them a head start for the garden season.  Getting them blooming as fast as possible is the first thing that I focus on when gardening.  It is also important for vegetables and fruits as well.  Below are pots that contain amaranthus, calendula, queen anne's lace, and statice seeds.

That is why I began with lettuce yesterday as well as watermelon.  Watermelons take quite a while to mature and need more time in order to get a much bigger and tastier fruit.  Starting them inside is the best way to give them extra time as well as a few other strategies that I will use when I plant them into the ground.  More on that at a later time.

Lettuce doesn't take that long to grow, but they need cooler weather and the best time to start them is now because one they are ready I will place them outside at around mid spring which is when their preferred temperatures arrive.  They don't like cold weather like spinach, but much cooler than summer temperatures are desired.

Time For Planting Alyssum and Dill Indoors

The sun is out longer and daylight savings has occurred it is time to start planting flowers indoors and getting them the head start that is needed.  My two favorite flowers will include alyssum and dill.  They are simple to grow and don't take that much maintenance to keep them thriving through the whole season.

The best part of growing them is that they are fast sprouting and should begin growing within a week.  This is pretty much the opposite of the spinach that I planted a week ago.  They take quite a while to begin sprouting and will probably not show signs of sprouting until another week or two. 

I place my flowers in the window instead of using fluorescent lights.  I find that I can maximize space by using large plastic containers and placing them on the window and saving electricity at the same time as well.  They do not require that much light and what they receive on the windowsill will be enough for the time being.

I will probably leave them their for about a month until the weather gets warmer and then begin placing them outside to get acclimated to the weather and temperatures.  For now they will stay on the windowsill unless I need room for my vegetables and fruits later on.

The Garden Season Starts with Spinach

Every year I begin the season with growing spinach indoors in order to give them a good head start to the new season.  I have found that this is a good way to begin because it is always the same for the most part.  This year I am trying something new with my spinach plants that I think will be very beneficial in the long run.

One of the best strategies that you can use when growing spinach indoors or outdoors is to soak them in water for 24 hours and then try planting them.  I never did this before because I didn't think that this would help in germination.

I decided that this season I would try it and see what would happen.  The theory is that these seeds have a tough shell and in order to soften the shell you would soak them in water.  This will allow for better and increased germination.  This is only a theory and one that I am going to test this season.  I have 24 pots that I will be using for growing spinach.  This means that I should have 24 plants to transplant into the garden.

I planted spinach seeds in 12 containers today and placed them under the lights for faster germination.  The other seeds are in a container being soaked and I will plant them tomorrow in the afternoon.  Noon time is when I placed them in a container of water.  You should soak them for 24 hours.  I will see if this simple technique helps with germination.  I like to put at least four to five seeds in each container as this will increase the chances of getting at least one of the five to sprout.

This year I am also going to be using sifted soil that I created from my worm composting.  I used this last year, but instead of sifting it I just placed them in the pots.  This year I worked out a way to sift all the good soil without getting of the worms into the soil.  Hopefully all the good nutrients and worm castings got through.  I will know in a couple of weeks whether or not the sifting was a good idea.

I will also be starting to grow flowers pretty soon such as alyssum, dill, sunflowers, cosmos, calendula, and many more.  Make sure to check back to this blog and find out what is happening with my garden plants.