Starting seeds: The Good, the Bad and the Dirty

How's your Spring Fever?  Yeah, mine, too. 

Depending on where you live, it's time to start seeds!  You have all your supplies, right? (If not, check out the post Spring Fever:  Preparing to Start Seeds.) Okay, let's begin!

I'm going to give the instructions to start seeds in the pellets because that's what I prefer to use.  It's less messy than dealing with starter mix, it's faster and I like the results I get.  However, you can use the starter mix and pots if you prefer.)

First, you'll need to figure out which seeds will go where.  I've decided that my squash, zucchini and red peppers will be started in the pellets, and in the plastic containers I've gotten from my grocery store.  The tomatoes will go in the pellets that you can barely see at the top right.

If you're using the pellets, you'll need to rehydrate them before you can use them.  To do this, place them in the container and add water. You'll probably need to add quite a bit of water.  Don't worry about adding too much--whatever isn't absorbed, you can pour off.  (And I did just that.)  These are what the pellets look like before water is added to them.

It will take a few minutes (around five or so) for the pellets to absorb the water and rehydrate.  As they are doing this, they will grow plump and taller. These grew to about two inches or so. (You may notice that I've used two different types of pellets. These are just the ones that were available at different stores when I purchased them.) 

Once they've stopped rehydrating, give them a good squeeze to loosen up any compacted insides.

You'll notice that there's a slight indentation at the top of each of the pellets.  Next, place one seed per pellet into the slight indentation.

Yes, it's a tiny seed.  Yes, you'll really only need one seed per pellet.  Really.

See the itty-bitty seeds on the top?  It's the tiny yellow dot.  (These are tomato seeds.)

Use a toothpick to gently press the seeds down into the pellets.  You don't need to go very deep--maybe just a smidgen.  After the seed is pressed down, use the toothpick to gently cover the seed.

Once all the seeds are pushed in and gently covered, you'll need to put the lids on your containers and place in a warm spot.  To start the seeds, you'll need warmth, but not light. You won't place the seedlings under lights until they've actually started to emerge.

Warm is really a relative term--I placed mine in the basement, next to an oil filled electric radiator space heater set on low.  The thermostat next to it read a consistent 62 degrees. 

Almost immediately you may notice the condensation starting on the lid of the container.  That's a good thing.  If you're planting more than one different seed type, you should label what you've started.  You can see I got all fancy-schmancy and used a Sharpee marker on Duct tape.

Now, comes the most difficult part.  Waiting.

Check your seeds every day and make sure that the container is moist.  There shouldn't be water pooling in the bottom of the container, but your pellets should be damp and condensation should be on the cover. 

In about a week, your seeds should start to sprout.  Here are mine after seven days.

Tomatoes from the seeds I harvested from last year's crop of Purple Cherokee and Pineapple Heirloom tomatoes.

Squash seeds

Once they've sprouted, it's time to get them under lights, which I'll cover in the next post.

Seeing the Potential: Stairs Before and After

Sometimes, it's difficult to see the potential.

Really difficult.

Such was the case with the stairs in my daughter's apartment.  The stairs originally had horrible, disgusting carpet on them and one evening, we decided to pull off the carpeting and were met with a gazillion staples and the horrible, disgusting stairs under the carpet.

Go ahead--say it.  EWWWW!!!!!

Most people would cry at these stairs.  But my daughter is...well, my daughter.  She has my genes.

Poor girl.

How about another Before pic of these awful stairs?  Can you stand it?  More EWWWW!!!!

Horrible, aren't they?  Okay, one more.  The After will be worth it, I promise.  See the marks on the side where all the gazillion staples were?  It took forever to pull them out.  Forever and then some.

 I promised After pics, and here they are.

After the staples were pulled out and the floor and railing cleaned, the stairs were painted with Sherwin Williams (SW6076) Turkish Coffee, the trim and baseboard received a fresh coat of white Olympic One Paint and Primer in One Satin Finish, and the walls painted with Sherwin Williams (SW 6759) Cooled Blue.

Much better, don't you think?

Perfect Price: Dresser Make Over

Sometimes we come across the perfect piece for the perfect price. 

Or the "could be perfect, but isn't yet" that's still the perfect price (free). 

Such is the case with this dresser that my daughter and I found at the side of the road, waiting to be carried off by the trash collector.  Luckily we got to it first.

You may not think we were lucky when you see the before pic, but we were.

Yes, it's a bit rough and tumble around the edges, but it's a solid (ie. heavy) piece, and hey, who could beat the price.

I'll remind you, it was a bargin for FREE! 

So let's take a look, shall we, to see what can happen with a coat of white paint, new handles and a bit of love.

It's like a completely new piece! 

Sorry, I don't have pictures and instructions--my daughter did this with her own creativity, but she tells me it was a result of a couple coats of white paint and simple change of drawer pulls from the hardware store.

The pefect price, indeed!

Good Bones: A Vanity Make-Over

Have you ever come across a piece of furniture that called out to you?

A piece of furniture that said, "Take me home. You know you love me. I am yours."

Even though you may be thinking, "I have no room for you. I don't need you. You are ugly and it will take time to redo you just to get you presentable enough not to wince every time I look at you and I really don't have the energy to haul home another piece of furniture that I do not need right now."

But then you somehow listen to the siren call of the scraggly piece of furniture and haul it home, hoping the neighbors aren't looking out their windows and thinking, "Another piece of furniture?"

Yeah, me, too.

That was the case with this vanity I scored off of Craigslist. She was calling my name.

Just a side note here--I am a Craigslist junkie. Seriously, if there was a 12 step program for people addicted to Craigslist, I'd...well, I'd join the Craigslist Fan Club (it doesn't exist, does it?) sooner than I'd join the 12 step program because I love Craigslist. And I can't imagine giving it up, especially when there is so much furniture out there! But I digress.

She's not pretty, is she? She struggles with her appearance, but she had something I like to call good bones.

She was sturdy. Her drawers worked. And she had these tiny little wheels on the end of her legs that made me smile.

So, when she called my name, I listened and brought her home, where my cats promptly set out to investigate this new item.

She sat in my bedroom for several weeks. I tried to ignore her and her good bones and her tiny little wheels on the end of her legs.

I tried to decide what color to paint her. Green, no black, no red, no blue. And finally, I decided.

And here she is.

A lovely chocolate brown chalk paint (which I made myself--more on that later) with a gold glaze to accentuate her beautiful legs and a gold fabric to recover her seat.

I think it fits her, don't you?

Spring Fever: Preparing to Plant Seeds

My fingers are itching. No, I don't have a skin condition, I have spring-itis. It's main symptoms are a strong desire to pick daffodils, plant seeds, and listen for robins singing outside a window.

Oh, you have it, too?

There's a treatment for spring-itis, ya' know. Start some seeds!

Okay, I have a confession to make here. (Yet, another confession!) I have a compulsion to buy seeds. My friend, Amber, says it's a problem, but I think it's only a problem in her eyes because she has to hear about all the seeds I buy.

I truly don't know how to resist all those little packets with pretty flowers or veggies,or herbs on the front. So, I do what any other gardener would do, and I buy seeds.

Before any seeds are bought or started, you need to figure out a few things.

1. You need to know in which growning zone you live. Knowing this zone will help when you starting thinking about what to plant and if it will actually grow in your zone. You don't want to buy an orange tree (which would do well in Zone 9) if you live in Maine (Zone 3-5). The USDA has a nifty little map that will tell you in which zone you reside. Here it is on the National Gardening Association website.
2. You need to know where you're going to plant your seeds once they actually become plants. How much space will you have to plant? Will you be planting in the ground, in a container, or will you be doing vertical planting? Does your spot get morning sun, afternoon sun, all day sun, or all day shade?
3. You need to figure out want to plant. There are many different options, from vegetables to herbs to fruits and flowers. Deciding what to plant may be the most challenging! My advice is to get a few catalogues from reputable seed companies (like Jung Seed) and start looking. Most experienced gardeners will tell new gardeners (that may be you) to start small--start with a few plants. I'd say, if you have a burning desire to plant okra (like I did) even if you've never ever in your life planted okra and don't even know what an okra plant looks like (like I did), then you should plant it (like I did). Do, however, start with just a few of your favorites and don't plant every thing you see in a seed catalogue. (As a side note, the okra grew beautifully and was very productive, partly because I planted the type of okra that was known to grow in my zone.)

So, you have your zone, you have your spot, and you've selected the plants you want to plant. You've even bought your seeds. What next?

Next, let's gather the materials we'll need.

Starting seeds is remarkably easy (and when I say "easy" I mean that nearly anyone can do it and be somewhat successful, even someone who has never started seeds before).

You'll need the following:

• Your seeds. Some plants, like tomatoes, bell peppers, cabbage and eggplants, do best when seeds are planted in a little pot or container, instead of being planted directly in the ground. This is especially true if your growing season is short, or if the plants take awhile to get to a point to produce fruit or vegetables.
• Little pots or containers or peat pots. Some people use cleaned yogurt containers, or buy the little starting kits from places like Wal-Mart, Target or Lowes. I like the pellets and have had good success with those. I've seen lots of information on the internet about making your own starting pots from toilet rolls, egg crates or newspaper, and for a new gardener, they're incredibly frustrating and they didn't work well at all for me.
• Starter soil. This is not potting soil, nor is it dirt! Starting soil is lighter weight than potting soil or dirt and will allow those young, delicate roots to grow like they need to. Depending on how many seeds you plant, it's likely you won't need a whole lot of it, so don't go buying it in 10 lb. bags.
• Labels for the seeds. You'll need to keep track of what you planted in which pots. This is easy if you're only planting one type of seed. You can use anything fancy, or just a sheet of paper with the name of the seeds written on it, tucked under the set of pots.
• Lights for the plants. I use plain fluorscent shop lights I bought at Lowes for under $15 each. The fluorescent light bulbs will work fine--you don't need to buy special light bulbs, honest. (I didn't believe it at first, either.)
• Something to cover the seeds. Remember those starter kits I was talking about? One of the things they have are the clear plastic covers that cover the seeds and soil to keep in the humidity while the seeds are trying to sprout. You can buy the kits or use plastic wrap, the plastic "clam shell" containers (like which comes with a salad at the grocery store salad bar) or even an aquarium turned upside down with the pots in it. Last summer, I found VCR storage containers at a garage sale for 25 cents each! They have covers which will be good for starting seeds and retaining the humidity and warmth as the seeds begin to sprout.

So, now you have your supplies. Get ready, because it's almost time to plant those seeds!

On the Right Path: Getting the Most from Gardening Seminars

I'm guilty of it, and maybe you are too--attending a seminar, class or one of those huge expos where there is everything under one roof. Sometimes I get so much information, even if the most simple of seminars, that when I come away, my ideas are big.

Much bigger than my budget or my reality or my energy level.

So, what's the best way to attend one of these events and walk away with something that is actually useful?

First, go into the situation with an open mind. I recently attended a Saturday morning seminar, Landscaping Ideas Worth Stealing presented by Central Pennsylvania garden writer and certified horticulturist George Weigel. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I went in with an open mind and came away with some great ideas that I can take back to my own yard. (More about that later.)

Second, grab all the handout information you can gather. In George's seminar, he offered a few different fliers--some were tip sheets and some were listings of additional (local) contacts and events. I've stored these in my reference basket and have come back to them since the event, now that I've had a chance to process some of the information that was presented.

(My reference basket is simply a basket I purchased at Home Goods where I store my gardening related information. Yes, I know it would be easier to locate the information if it was stored all nicely and organized in a nifty binder, but I'm not there yet. It's on my to-do list.)

Third, allow yourself some time to process the information you've heard. Chances may be good that you'll come up with 101 ideas while you're at the event. Or maybe not. (The majority of my processing time happens when I'm driving, and since I have at least a 30 minute drive to work each morning, I get lots of processing time!) Regardless of the ideas you imagine, you'll most likely be limited on your money, time and energy. Which brings me to my next point...

Fourth, create an idea or wish list. You can use paper and pencil method, or even start a board on Pinterest (here's my Pinterest board, Fingers in the dirt, sun on my skin). Consider why these ideas appeal to you. Consider the composition, the color, the movement, the shape, the feeling, the atmosphere, etc. that you think of when these ideas come to mind.

Fifth, be open to alternatives. Being open to changes on your wish list, or even changes in the original information that was presented in a seminar, may make the difference between your idea becoming reality, or your idea always remaining an idea.

Let me give an example.

During George's seminar, he showed dozens of pictures of beautiful, lush gardens. I don't have beautiful, lush gardens, even though I'd really like to have them.

I could have gotten hung up on the amount of money all those plants would have cost. Or the amount of time and energy it would have taken to get my yard looking like those gardens. But I didn't.

Instead, I focused on what he said about why those gardens were so appealing to the eye. The varying height differences of the plants, the different colors and textures used, the movement within the gardens, the use of shade and sun...all those ideas which I could use in my own garden.

And that got me thinking about my own gardens...and here's what I've decided.

In my front garden bed, I have a small garden that last year I edged with bricks. These are the pics from last summer. Pretty, no?

But, there were two of these small gardening beds with a patch of grass in between which made mowing there a pain in the you-know-what.

After George's seminar, I realized what was missing with these two beds and why I wasn't really thrilled with them.

First, they were too small. Each bed was only about 4 feet depth, which is simply too narrow.

Second, they were too choppy. I have absolutely no idea what I was thinking leaving that patch of grass in between.

Third, where's the color, the texture, height, the movement in these small, choppy garden beds?

I can't find that either.

So, that's when I came up with my plans for these beds.

• Make them bigger. I'll start this by connecting the two beds (and get rid of that funky grass soul patch thing going on in between them) and make them wider.
• Add some height by adding some different plants. I have a pussy willow bush in the back yard (that will eventually become a pussy willow tree with the right pruning) that's at an awkward spot now, so I'll move it to this bed for some height.
• Add some symmetry. I'll start by moving one of these shrubs seen in picture one to a place where it's more aligned with the other.
• Add some variety. Those hostas need to be divided (which means more hostas in more places), and I even have a couple of rose bushes that are struggling elsewhere in the yard due to not enough sun that I could move here. I'll also think about what plants would work well here and start them from seed, so when spring finally arrives, I'll have the plants ready to go in the new bed.

Here's what has happened so far...

My wonderful teen-aged son has already started widening the beds!

We extended the edge to about six feet--enough to give enough depth to the bed.

We also elected to not only extend it the whole length of the property line, but extend it down to the sidewalk!

The weather lately hasn't been cooperating enough for my son and I to get out there and remove the grass that's in the new bed and dig a small trench to settle in the bricks. But I'm excited that we have an edge laid out!

I'm still gathering ideas of plants and composition of what will go in this bed. In the mean time, I'll keep my eyes open for ads on Craigslist and put back a few pennies here and there in case I want to splurge on something nice. I'll also keep thinking about it, remaining open to opportunities that could come my way, confident in the end, I'll figure it out.

Big Ideas, Little Budget: Painted Tile Back Splash

I don't always have the cha-ching in the budget to make my BIG ideas into BIG reality, which means I have to come up with other ways to make my BIG ideas into BIG reality.

And here's a BIG idea. I love the beautiful tiled back splashes I've seen in magazines. But, because I like to change my mind (which sometimes also translates into changing the decor in my home) and because I don't have big bucks to drop on a different back splash every couple of years (or more), then I had to come up with an alternate way of getting those fancy-schmancy back splashes for my kitchen.
This is why I love Pinterest. (For those of you who don't know, Pinterest is like computer crack. Seriously.)
When I saw this from Sawdust and Embryos via Pinterest, I heard angels singing. Can you hear them too?

Source

They've painted tile. Not painted ON tile, but painted the tile!

This, I thought to myself, I could do. So, with the help of my wonderful daughter (who is completely used to her mom calling her up and saying, "Hey, I have this idea and need your help!") and her understanding boyfriend (who is getting used to his girlfriend's mom calling him and saying, "Hey, I have this idea and need your help!"), I tried my own version of creating a painted black splash in my kitchen.

First, I needed to paint what would be the "grout lines" in between the tiles. Since my walls (and originally the wall behind the sink) is yellow, that meant that I needed to paint the area white. Also, since this was to be our first attempt, and if I decided that I didn't like it, I could paint over it, I decided to do only the section directly behind the counter.

You can see the blue painters tape I used to mark off the edges.

Next, we needed to tape off the "grout lines". To do this, we had to first cut the tape into the appropriate width. I got a roll of one inch painters tape, which we then marked at the half inch width, then carefully cut with a sharp blade.

Cutting very carefully!

Next, was the most painstaking part--laying the tape. We had a template (sorry--no pics of the template!) that I created from the side of macaroni and cheese box that we used to mark the first row and used a light pencil mark to help guide the tape placement.

Eventually, we had the entire area taped.

Next, came the painting part.

For painting, I used the acrylic paints that can be found at nearly every hobby store (like Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc.). Mine, I bought for about 69 cents on sale.

I mixed the colors and did the "tiles" one by one. Each color is painted on approximately four to five "tiles". I had a painting in my kitchen and a rug on my floor which had similar colors to the ones I mixed and used.

To add a bit of visual texture to each "tile", I dabbed the paint on with a small paint brush.

Here's a section of what it looked like when all the "tiles" were painted (before we removed the tape).

There were mixed opinions as to if we should remove the tape while everything was still somewhat tacky (slightly wet and not completely dry), or if we should remove it right away. We decided to VERY CAREFULLY remove it right away.

And, ta-dah! Here's the final product!

Just to remind you of where we started...

Before

And after!

When we first pulled off all the tape, I wasn't sure if I liked it. Both my daughter and the boyfriend were also not sure if they liked it. However, throughout the evening, I found myself drawn to it and it made me smile. I think it gives my plain-Jane kitchen a bit of spice and personality, which is what I was looking for. 

Once the weather gets warmer (and I can open some windows), I'll add a coat of clear polyurethane to protect the surface from water and other splashy things that might be on the counter. Until then, I'll be very, very careful. 

This project (not including painting the "grout" background or installing the new lighting--see below) took a complete afternoon--about three or four hours--with three people. While my daughter and the boyfriend did most of the taping, I did all of the painting, while they provided their suggestions as to the shades, colors and placement of the paints. Although this could be a one person project, having an extra set of hands makes it much easier and faster. Plus, having someone to provide their thoughts and suggestions also helps.

If I had it to do all over again, I might make the size of the "tiles" and the "grout line" a bit thinner. The size the "tiles" are now are thicker than typical tiles you might find in a netted sheet at Lowe's, but thinner than typical subway tiles. The grout (at half an inch) is also thicker than traditional grout lines. I think 1/4 inch grout might be more "realistic" looking, but I'll not be changing mine anytime soon.

You might notice that the under the counter lighting in the after picture is much brighter. That's because my wonderfully handy (and always willing to help his mom on her latest ideas) teen son and I installed a set of under the counter lights I got for around $40 at Lowe's that morning. Before, I had two separate florescent lights, and I really like the look the under the counter lighting provided.

This back splash will be fairly easy to repaint over if I decided in the future to change my mind and the decor of my kitchen. 

Until then, I've provided interest and personality to my kitchen for a very reasonable investment of paint, tape, time and effort (and a few extra helping hands!).

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