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Bolted, Pulled and Planted again!
Yesterday afternoon, Scooby and I were pulling weeds out of the gravel at the crawl space access, when I noticed there was a bed of baby arugula. I didn’t plant it there, but back in the spring when I relocated a bed to add the gravel, there was an arugula plant that had already gone to seed. It turns out that all those seeds were dropped in the gravel. It’s somewhat of a dream of mine to have a self-planting…
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Lettuce Germination
Lettuce may be one of the easiest crops to grow so long as it isn’t planted too late in hot conditions that make it bolt. Several years ago I had a great crop of Romaine in a raised bed with ideal soil conditions. There was a rich blend of manure compost, peat moss, vermiculite and the existing soil. I started seeds in the early spring, watered regularly, and added tomato plants in to the bed in April which gave the…
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Sprouts
Each day I’ve been checking tiny little spouts, spritzing them with water and waiting for the last empty soil pods to show signs of life. Winter returned to Raleigh, North Carolina this week, thanks to Sir Walter Wally the Groundhog, so I’ve not been able to bask in the sun on the small brick patio in the garden. I’m hoping that winter remains kind to the small lettuce seedlings that are sprouting outside. I’ve planted quite a variety already: English…
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DIY Plant Stand with Grow Light
Being a frugal gardener, I don’t have the money to shell out on upwards of $200 plant stands with grow lights. I have a window with a decent amount of afternoon light, but the seedlings do tend to get leggy as they strain for the sun. Today, I put together a system using a shelf I already had and a light that cost me only $17. The shelf was from Target, and originally cost me another $17. So the total…
