seeds
It all came together well. I got my Stokes Seed order in the mail yesterday, and I had bought all the supplies - soil, light bulbs, mini-greenhouses, etc. - a few days before. So I started three packages of seeds growing last night. Will do more types later on in the season.
There's really not that much to it. To start most of them you get any kind of old plastic vessel or dish, put some soil in it, saturate it with water. Sprinkle the seeds on the surface of the soil, and either press them in gently or cover them over, depending on the instructions. Add a few drops of fungicide to the soil and place them over a heater. I use one of those electric heating pads that are meant for a sore back. Cover the containers with something to hold in heat and moisture, and keep them under lights during the day. Mist them with warm water every day. Transplant them into little cells when they get big enough.
Plants are a relaxing and fulfilling experience for me. When I'm planting seeds it brings back some of my earliest memories. Helping my mother to plant vegetable seeds in the garden. Planting a package of flower seeds one spring and watching them grow. My neighbour, Mrs. Krogh, giving Jason and I four petunias in a planter as pay for "helping" her with the garden one spring, and how we raced home with them to give them to mom.
I also reflect on how, in a way, I'm starting new lives, but not really, since it's a continuation of life. Some will mature and flower and prosper, some won't. Some of that will be luck, some of it genetics, some of it care and conditions. Even in this artificial environment, it's not that different from nature, or from our lives, really. It's not surprising at all that so many religions use seeds in parables and teachings and ceremonies.
There's really not that much to it. To start most of them you get any kind of old plastic vessel or dish, put some soil in it, saturate it with water. Sprinkle the seeds on the surface of the soil, and either press them in gently or cover them over, depending on the instructions. Add a few drops of fungicide to the soil and place them over a heater. I use one of those electric heating pads that are meant for a sore back. Cover the containers with something to hold in heat and moisture, and keep them under lights during the day. Mist them with warm water every day. Transplant them into little cells when they get big enough.
Plants are a relaxing and fulfilling experience for me. When I'm planting seeds it brings back some of my earliest memories. Helping my mother to plant vegetable seeds in the garden. Planting a package of flower seeds one spring and watching them grow. My neighbour, Mrs. Krogh, giving Jason and I four petunias in a planter as pay for "helping" her with the garden one spring, and how we raced home with them to give them to mom.
I also reflect on how, in a way, I'm starting new lives, but not really, since it's a continuation of life. Some will mature and flower and prosper, some won't. Some of that will be luck, some of it genetics, some of it care and conditions. Even in this artificial environment, it's not that different from nature, or from our lives, really. It's not surprising at all that so many religions use seeds in parables and teachings and ceremonies.