How To Germinate Seeds

Have you spent hours of tender loving care planting seeds while dreaming of the beautiful lush green plants they will grow to be?

How did you feel when you realized nothing was going to grow?

Disappointed? Frustrated?

That is exactly how Tony and I felt last year.  So much wasted time, resources, and money with nothing to show for it.

By the time  we realized we weren't going to be successful, it was too late to start over.  Grrrr!

We ended up going to our local nursery and bought seedlings for our garden. 

I did some  research and this year we are trying again armed with our new found knowledge: Germinating Seeds

What does germinating seeds mean, you ask?  To germinate means to cause to sprout, grow or develop.  So how do we know our seeds are going to even grow?  We are going to jump start their growing by soaking the seeds.  Thus eliminating the guessing game of which seeds will grow and which won't.

Various areas on the internet suggested using tea, coffee and other liquids to soak your seeds in.  I want to be as organic as possible so I used what nature provides, rainwater.  However, not everyone collects rainwater so use tap water or bottled water.

• Using a ramekin,  place the seeds of the plant you want to grow. 

• Fill the ramekin with enough rainwater (tap or bottled water) to fully cover the seeds.

• Make sure to label and place a plant marker in each ramekin.

• Let seeds soak up to 24 hours but no longer than 48 hours.

• Plant as directed.

Yes, it is THAT simple.

For larger seeds or seeds with thicker/harder shells, damage the shell of the seed.  Scarring the shell makes it easier for water to penetrate the seed.  This is called scarification.  Scarring can be done by cracking the shell open or using a knife to nick it.

Try germinating your seeds BEFORE planting and let us know how it worked for you.

Next time, we talk about DIY Greenhouses.

Recycle Newspaper into Starter Pots

Finished with your morning newspaper?

Got sales papers laying around?

Why not recycle your old newspapers into starter pots?

It's free and easy to do.

Here's how:

Take a full page newspaper.  

 Cut it down the middle at the fold.

Fold the paper in half.

 

Now fold this half in half again.

Unfold.

Fold in corner on the closed side.

Fold in the other corner.

Keeping the corners folded, take part of the bottom and fold it up to the bottom of the corners.

Then take the folded bottom  and fold it over the bottom of the corners.

Keeping it folded, flip the paper over.

Fold one side toward the middle.

Fold the other side toward the middle. 

Now fold the bottom towards the top.

Tuck the bottom into the folded area.

Should look like this so far. 

Fold the top (pointy part) towards the bottom. Should look like an envelope.

Taking the point, fold it to the top corner. 

While still fold, make a crease at the top.

Pop open the paper. 

The pot should be square with a flap.

Get your glue stick and glue the bottom flap down. 

Flip it over and now you have a free biodegradable starter pot! 

Join us next week when we talk about germinating seeds!

Homemade Toilet Paper Roll Starter Pots

Happy New Year 2015!!

What is your New Year's Resolution?

Our New Year's Resolution is  to be more Eco-Friendly, especially around the house.  Last year, Tony and I started our first vegetable garden and compost.  Great for trials and LOTS of errors.  We learned A LOT of what NOT to do.  This  year we plan to take what we have learned and improve upon it by building better garden beds, a three bin compost, greenhouse, seedlings, and more.

Our first endeavor, began with saving all the paper towel and toilet paper rolls.  Even had my parents help save them. I turned the toilet paper rolls into starter pots.  The are PERFECT for growing seedlings!

Once there is no chance of frost, take the seedlings along with the pots and plant directly in your garden.   

BENEFITS:

The seedlings don't go into shock from being transplanted.

The pots are biodegradable.   

Recycling keeps the paper towel & toilet paper rolls out of landfills.

The pots are FREE!

Here's how to make your own Toilet Paper/Paper Towel Starter Pots:

Flatten the toilet paper roll making it more of a square.

Using scissor, cut approximately 1/2" along each fold of one end.

Fold the flaps down like a box.

Now you have your FREE biodegradable starter pot.  

  

Plant your seeds, label and watch your plants grow. 

Start saving your toilet paper and paper towel rolls today!  

Next week, we will give a tutorial of how to make starter pots out of newspaper.  So save your newspaper too!

Baking Soda as a Weed Killer

Due to all the rain, we have been searching for a natural way to combat all the weeds. There are several everyday household products anyone can use such as baking soda, vinegar, and dish washing liquid.

 THE BAKING SODA TEST:

DAY ONE: We poured the baking soda along the edge of the rock border of our walkway and our stone path.

 

 DAY THREE: The baking soda seems to be working.  The weeds are turning brown.

   DAY SEVEN: The baking soda has killed all the weeds.

RESULTS:  Baking Soda as a weedkiller is a fantastic alternative to using chemicals and pesticides as well as safe for the environment.

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Compost Tea

We have had so much rain, we don’t remember how long the compost has been in our wheel barrel waiting to be used.  The good news: We have a wheel barrow full of compost tea. (We weren't intentionally making it.)

What is compost tea?

It is a liquid fertilizer that is simple to make. 

How To Make Compost Tea:

Ingredients: compost and rainwater and a container to hold it all (wheel barrow)

Wheel Barrow Compost Tea

Put compost in the wheel barrow. 

Let rain collect in the wheel barrow. 

Allow the mixture to marinate.

Collect the water by being eco-friendly and reuse milk and juice jugs.  

Water your plants like normal using the compost tea.

FYI

Searching on the web, you will find many different ways to make compost tea.  Some articles we have read advise to use the compost tea right away or within a few hours.  We have used ours several days later and have not had any adverse reactions.

Take note of your plants health.  

Please send us feedback letting us know how the Compost Tea worked for your plants.

We’d love to hear from you!

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