Yes! This IS the beginning of our seed starting season! What a great activity to get into on a frigid near single digit day. With a little elbow grease, we’ve transformed the chicken brooder into a plant nursery in our spare not-yet-renovated bedroom. (In all honesty, NONE of the bedrooms are, yet, renovated.) I have a seed starter spreadsheet that I use. I plug in my last frost date and it will calculate when I should start the seeds for transplants. I’m using May 1st as my last frost date which is very conservative.
I continue to use soil blocks. They, consistently, carry our transplants, in good health, to the garden bed. In the following images, Hannah is making the soil blocks that have indentations in the mold to hold the seed. The medium needs to be wetted well enough so that the blocker can form cubes that will hold together. We have used Organic Mechanics and we have used Promix for the seed starting medium with good results. The Organic Mechanics is a little less fine and it is not unusual to find larger chunks of organic material in the mix. It does not deter germination or development of the plant. It is just a little less smooth in the block-making. After the seed is dropped onto the block; we, very gently, press each seed to ensure that the seed is making good contact with the medium. We mist the seeds and, then, sprinkle a thin layer of soil-less material over the top: vermiculite, perlite, or, as in this session; rice hulls. Then, we do another light misting and make sure the trays are kept moist. Once the seeds begin to germinate, I will put on the lights that we have hanging above the tables. Go seeds!
Transformations: Bedroom to Chicken Brooder to Plant Nursery
Making Soil Blocks…
…with help from a friend…
One of our very best friends!
Placing seeds in each block: Chives and leeks, today!
