Let the Season Begin -

It was a big week on the farm. The very first seeds were planted on Wednesday. I use the Stella Natura cosmic calendar as a guide to choosing the very best day to plant certain seeds. Wednesday was a “leaf” day, meaning an excellent day to plant crops that we harvest the leaves from. So I seeded lettuce, celery, parsley, and three brassicas (cabbage, kale, kohlrabi). I put the soil mix into the planting flat, make 10 little ditches, sprinkle the seeds in the ditch, cover it up and water. Then I place the flats into an old refrigerator that is laying on its back, hang a 60 watt light bulb in it and close the door. Most other growers have a fancier way of germinating seeds. We’ve ALWAYS used this system. It’s cheap and works quite well. The temperature inside the frig is around 85 degrees. When the weather gets warmer we use a 40 watt bulb overnight and make sure to open the top during the day so the seeds don’t get baked.

Today I took the first three flats out of the frig. As soon as I see that brand new seedling emerging from the soil, the flat needs to come out and get into the sunlight. If we leave them in past that point, they stretch too long looking for the light and become unsuitable for growing on - long weak necks. Now I will baby these flats along by placing them over a heat mat. Next week I’ll turn on the expensive propane heater so that the whole greenhouse stays warm overnight.

Low-tech seed germination “chamber”.