Friday, May 15, 2009

A Sowing Frenzy

"The mere fact that you get a lot of seeds in a packet doesn't mean you have to plant all of them." - Henry Mitchell




Boy do I ever need to heed Henry Mitchell's this advice. If you've been reading this blog, you know that I'm a new gardener and have sowed seeds for the first time this year. I always love a challenge, and for me getting a seed to turn into a healthy plant is a good challenge.



My first time sowing back in March was full of promise... then anxiety... then annoyance... and finally (in some instances) jubuliance! Everything was a learning experience for this virgin seed sower. For example, I wish someone had told me that it was normal for the seed leaves to turn yellow and fall off when the true leaves show up (jeez that scared me as I thought all my seedlings were dying!).



There was also much worry as I tried to gage just how much water the seedlings needed, how to avoid dampening off, when to transplant, and when to harden off. My head was spinning. I was actually losing sleep over this as I tossed and turned at night.



I even had a recurring nightmare where all the seedlings died and I went to nursery to buy plants to replace them, but it was too late and they were all out! Imagine! How awful!

My anxiety finally turned into annoyance with the peas and with the tray of seedlings I fell on top of... *sigh*

Anyway, since I'm a glutton for punishment and figure I still have lots to learn (and the best way to learn is by doing), I decided to sow more seeds last night.

"The things we have to learn before we do them, we learn by doing them." - Aristole




I'm finding that sowing can be hard work! Especially when you don't know what you are doing. But thankfully, I don't have sow dressed like this....



I'm still amazed at how mobile woman were back then dressed in all those clothes.

The modern woman owes alot to the confident women who were brave enough to go against society's norm and get practical.



Bravo I say to them!


So, as I sit at the little make shift potting bench in our garage I can pay homage to the woman gardeners who came before me. For this much is true...


"Only God can make a tree, but I'm in charge of seeds and weeds!" -Author Unknown





In closing, in case you are wondering, here's what I sowed (I sowed lots extra for some friends as well as to cover me in case there are any casualties).


- 8 cells of zucchini squash (Cashflow, Johnny Seeds) - Plant 4 give 4 away.
- 8 cells of summer squash (Zephyr, Johnny Seeds) - Plant 4 give 4 away.
- 4 cells of Butternut squash (Waltham, Johnny Seeds) - Plant 2 give 2 away.
- 16 cells of cucumbers (Olympian, Johnny Seeds) - Plant 8 give 8 away.
- 16 cells of Green Beans (Blue Lake Bush, Livingston Seeds) - Plant 8 give 8 away.
- 8 cells of marigold (Burpee's mixed)
- 4 cells of marigold (Queen Sophia, Burpees

And if that's not enough to feed my sowing frenzy I'm going to direct sow some other annuals as well as caladium - maybe next week. Ambitous I know.... that'll teach me!

10 comments:

tina said...

You are a seed sowing stressed lady for sure. I am betting your seeds will be fine and if not, you'll persevere, no problem at all.

Cathy S. said...

I think your seeds will come out great, I was told that seeds are only good for one year I'm not sure how true that is for I am not brave enough to try.

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

It can be a bit overwhelming starting seeds. I tried starting more this year, and some of the plants don't really look that great and others look better than store bought. You'll probably learn over time what you like starting from seed and what is too much trouble.
You will be so excited when you get food and flowers from all of you sleepless nights.
Can't wait to see how they all look!

Jennifer AKA keewee said...

Seems we have traveled the same road.

Bangchik and Kakdah said...

Interesting with seeding.., you succeed most of the time...., even when nothing germinate, we can always try again... Good Luck! ~ bangchik

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Great post! Good luck to you! I don't seed much.I tend to overwater and kill. Usually I throw seeds directly to the beds.

Heather said...

Unless it is direct sow, I am not a seedy girl. Next year I will be. Now I have a space to start them and can't wait. I admire you for trying so many at once, I would do the same thing.

Beegirl said...

Good luck with your starts! Hoping to get some direct seeds in next week. Poured last night and it's too wet to do it today...sigh...

Roses and Lilacs said...

I always remind myself seeds have been sprouting longer than I have been gardening. One of us knows just what to do;) And then there is always the trip to the greenhouse to fall back on.
Marnie

admin said...

I wholeheartedly agree, learning by doing is the best way to learn anything. Hope everything sprouts!