Most of our seeds have arrived and we have been starting to organize and plan what we will be sowing into flats and what we will be sowing into pots. The rest will be sown directly into the farm beds.
I've been organizing our seeds similar to how I do it at work at the Redwood Creek Nursery. I bought a bin that has just enough space to store most of the seed we will be buying except for the bulk seed and potatoes. In the bin I have file folders that are labeled by month and then I also have some labeled with letters of the alphabet. Basically the way it's organized is by seed sowing timing for this year and then the seed that will be stored can be filed alphabetically. So for instance, onions and leeks are filed in the February folder, while tomatoes and squash and beans are filed under the May folder. In the front of the bin I have seeds that can be sown at any time of year, like beets and radishes and some leafy greens. I can't say that I came up with this system, but rather I have "borrowed" the idea from work and I have to say it's rather clever. I find that this helps to remind me of what time of year to sow things.
Since this is the first year that we really have a much larger diversity of veggies we are growing, I also have a calender specifically for noting what we sowed and when it was sowed. I am also noting the weather and rain to as it will help me remember exactly what the year was like weatherwise and maybe give some insight into how well things do or don't grow this year. We also have a spreadsheet with a multitude of things we are keeping track of such as sowing info, we have farm bed schematics, we are tracking what seeds we have bought and from where and how much it cost and well... let's just say a lot of stuff. More than I want to get into in this post (we'll save all those organizational systems for a later date).
For our seed sowing needs I thought I would go a more "wholesome" route when it comes to sowing seeds in flats. I decided that I would build seed germination boxes rather than using plastic flats like I do at the nursery. My hope is that these boxes will last for a few years (maybe many??) before needing to be repaired or discarded. I bought rough redwood 1x4s from our local Mill Valley Lumber, cut to varying lengths. Most of my boxes ended up being made with lengths 14"x23", but some are 12"x12". I'm not sure yet how I like the really long flat compared to a square flat. Instead of having wood bottoms I am testing out using hardware cloth for the base.
My thought was that the wood might rot out quickly with it being moist all the time and also having roots that would penetrate the wood surface, thereby degrading it faster. With the hardware cloth my hope is that it allows for easy drainage, yet is durable and easy to use. I don't know yet if my idea will get me in trouble more quickly down the line as the hardware cloth rusts or breaks down. I also have some boxes with a double layer of hardware cloth (the outer layer has 1 cm size square galvanized cloth while the inner layer is a much smaller weave) while some just have a single layer. My guess is that the single layer will break down and rust within the year.
But trial and error will allow me to decide if this really isn't the way to go and that I should probably stick with a wooden bottom like most people! So, I put the boxes together with outdoor wood screws and then stapled on the hardware cloth on the bottom. They seem to work out just fine for keeping the soil in the box, but I did notice that the long box is very heavy once the soil is wet, so the double layer seems to really help keep it from breaking apart.
Once the germination boxes are completed, it's time for the fun part of seed sowing! Since we are working on becoming certified organic, we must use organic materials. We bought
Organic Blend Sunshine Mix from
Harmony Farm Supply. In an ideal world we would be creating our own germination mix from the soil on our farm, but we have yet to create our own compost which will be necessary to maintain a more sustainable system of soil being renewable and enhanced rather than degraded. In the future the goal is to provide all the soil fertility we will need for both germinating seeds in flats as well as in the beds themselves. For now we have resigned to buying a seed germination mix. In case you are wondering, a seed germination mix is very light and fluffy and seedlings love to grow in it.
First, I need to make sure that the germination mix is clump free and moist (not too wet and not too dry - like a wrung out sponge).
You can de-clump the mix by hand as it gets put into the box. The box gets filled to the brim with the mix and is then tamped down gently.
The seeds are then sprinkled by hand in an even manner, first one direction and then the other so that the seeds generally land in a grid pattern allowing maximum space between seeds.
You want to make sure that you are not oversowing seed (too much competition), while also not undersowing (you want to maximize the amount of seedlings you can fit in the flat for healthy growth). Then, the seeds are tamped to provide good contact with the soil.
Next, you take a little bit of drier germination mix and use either hardware cloth or a sieve to shake more soil over the soil to cover the seeds. Depending on the size of seed will depend on how much soil is needed to cover them (smaller seeds need less soil, while bigger seeds need more). It then gets tamped one more time.
Lastly, you are ready to mist the soil down, label your flat with what you have (a very important detail, leeks and onions look exactly the same when they germinate) and place them in your "greenhouse" and watch them grow.
What's that you say? You don't have a greenhouse?! Well, I have obviously taken up too much of your time with this post, so greenhouses and building your own will be discussed in another post.
But, you are ready to get your hands dirty and start sowing! Happy germinating!
Baby American Flag Leeks after 17 days (Australian Brown Onions in the box in the background). How cute! Peppers have yet to germinate in the pots.
