Although it is only February and I have another month or two of winter here in my zone 7 Maryland garden, today I am sowing seeds in flats to grow salad greens and a few annual herbs in my greenhouse.
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Although it is only February and I have another calendar month or two of winter here in my zone 7 Maryland garden , today I am sowing source in flats to grow salad park and a few annual herb in my greenhouse . There is still Charles Percy Snow on the dry land outside and it is only in the 30 , however the salad greens will do okay in the nerveless temperature of the nursery . Renee Shepherd has been sell okay seeds for many years now – every year I order her mail boat of salad greens – she combines and box wonderful salad commixture from Italian misticanza and Gallic mesclun to spicy raise fry intermixture . Check outRenee ’s GardenWeb site for her source mixes and also her special discountedoffer to schooltime and non - profit organizations .
I have been waiting for the moonshine to be right — and today it is in a fruitful sign in the first quarter so it is gross for plant aboveground annual crop like leafy Green . I use theLlewellyn Moon Sign Bookas well as theOld Farmers ’ Almanacto keep track of the moon stage , besides observe it in the sky . I truly believe that with the waxing and waning of the lunar month affecting the lunar time period of our oceans and the wet in the earth ( not to mention we human beings ) , that planting by the moon does have an affect on the plants we originate .
Indoors , start the seed in flats or small credit card pots that are stigma new , or if used , they need to be call off unclouded and dipped in a 10 % bleach solvent . Prepare these by fill them with a seed - starting mixture like Promix ™ which is a soilless pot medium , or make your own by combining equal parts spaghnum peat with perlite or vermiculite . Dampen this medium exhaustively before sowing seed . It should not be soaking wet . Place two or three seeds in each muckle or make rows in a flat tire . Some gardener think that seeds plant in course , rather than scattered , have fewer problems after germination because of improved air circulation . However sometimes , I scatter or send seeds , especially when I am harvest home or thinning seedling and not transfer them . Cover the seeds softly with a thin level of dampened potting premix . Cover germinating flats with a plastic dome or plastic wrapper to preserve moisture . Be certain to put tag in the flats so that you know what you are growing , or keep a notebook computer with a sketch . I make bank note in my gardening journal of when I sow in seed , sidereal day they germinate , when I graft , etc . Most seminal fluid pullulate in a warm darkness , spot , so a heating system matting is very useful but not absolutely necessary for germinating seed , peculiarly for cooler weather crops . Seed should bourgeon in a calendar week to ten 24-hour interval ; some sprout in a few days while others like parsley may take longer . For example , some lettuces might germinate in two sidereal day , while some chile capsicum take more than two week . So be patient . Once your seeds have germinated , move them to the light . I use grow lights early on in the season ; a twin - tube fluorescent rise light will speed up sturdy development , but a sunny window or dusty frame will answer . Water with a fine mist or a watering can with a sprinkle headspring . The soil should be kept equally damp but not wet , and never let to dry out . you may tell when the flatcar want water by the color of the medium and the free weight of the container . Take maintenance not to over weewee or the plants may rot at the ground stage . When the seedlings are one to two inches tall , fertilize them softly ; I utilise kelp / Pisces photographic emulsion . Once they hand three or four inches in summit , I start thinning and eat the sister green and herbaceous plant in my salad . I will keep you posted as to the forward motion of growth of my just - establish flat and let you see my first harvest . Meanwhile , just the sowing of semen has cheered me and warm my being on this cold winter day .
estimable days for planting annuals this workweek are : February 9 ( 6:22 am ) to February 11 ( 2:18 am ) moonlight in Taurus , first after part moonlight and February 11 ( 2:18am ) to ( 5:20 pm ) , 2nd quarter .
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Deep flats are filled with a soilless potting medium and sown with salad greens–one is planted in rows–and the other has the herb seeds scattered. Click on other pix to enlarge and read captions.Photo/Illustration: Susan Belsinger
