💾 Archived View for midnight.pub › posts › 285 captured on 2022-06-11 at 21:53:14. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2021-12-03)
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Now that we've moved into March, the time to prep ones plants for the year has begun. Cause, like, they gotta start now or your plants won't be mature till like, late, and then you can't enjoy plants. This isn't the case for ALL plants, just those that have longer germination/growth periods. Whether you're growing in container, hydroponics or in the ground, t'is time. Unless you're keeping the plants in year-round or you live in Australia or something where it's the end of warm season. I dunno your life.
If you can, get seeds ASAP. The last 2 summers, hardware stores and greenhouses sell out EARLY cause a lot of people have picked up gardening. Like, we're out of dirt at my work right now. Absolutely nutty. Make sure whatever it is you'll be growing is good for your "hardiness zone". No sense planting a tropical plant outside if you get -30 winters like we do here in Canadalanada. You can find maps of hardiness zones in the Farmers Almanac, or google it if you're feeling spicy. This really only applies to perrenials; the kind of plant that will go dormant in winter, but come back in the summer. Annuals, the other kind, only last till the end of the warm season then they die. A lot of those hanging planters in the summer are annuals.
Anyways, I forgot what I was talking about.
Seeds. Yes. So, anyways, get em' while they're still there. There are an infinite number of ways to start your seeds, but some options are
Peat Pods (most popular)
In clay (usually transferred to water)
Direct into pot (easier if you have single plant stuffs)
Direct into hydro system
so lemme break em' down for ya.
This is probably the most common way to start seeds. There are kits sold with the tray and everything but you don't gotta do that. Basically they're little pods and you put the seed into it, and water it like a pot. when they get wet. they bloat up and the seed can grow into it. once it's a seedling, and ready to be transferred to soil, you just pop the whole thing in cause it's organic peat and the roots will just grow past it.
The downside to this is that you probably need a decent amount of peat pods, especially if you're growing a lot of plants. you only put 1 per pod. When the seedlings start coming out, you clip off the smaller ones so there's only 1 shoot per pod, so that the plant roots aren't trying to grow 3 at once and can focus on the 1 shoot. Anyways, in terms of accessories, you'll need the tray and all the pods. A lot of people use a little clear plastic lid like a dome to help with humidity. Another good addition is a heating mat to get the seedlings all toasty to grow. Like a little plant incubator. It's not terribly expensive to buy one but, just something to think about.
So, like, if you're doing hydroponics, a good way to start the seeds is to get those clay balls they sell at greenhouses or anywheres really, put it in a tray (I use Chinese buffet takeout containers oops)and put a bit of water in it. The plants will become little microgreens (small) and then they can be transferred. You should have an air stone on lowest setting for this to get the plant roots oxygen. They need oxygen, much like people. This is actually decently popular with hydro systems, and isn't overly expensive except the air stone I guess. Transplanting them can be a pain in the ass though. since they're so small. You transfer them when they're microgreen sized. That's like, 2 inches (5cm) big. It's delicate work. And kinda tedious.
I'm gonna put the last two in the same category cause they're the same thing basically. You just,,,,,,,,,, put the seed in either the soil or the hydro system. That's it. Nothing to it. No need for fancy systems. it's limited to how many containers you have, but it works well. Root vegetables like carrots and potatoes can do well 1/container. So it's going to be less yield than in like, the ground, but its good if you're short on space.
Anyways, yeah, I hope that's helpful somehow for getting seeds ready. Also, as an aside, sorry if my writing is all over the place and not great. I failed A LOT of writing assignments as a student for using a lot of words to say nothing. But I am using this to practice and also talk about my favourite things. Thanks 4 reading and stuff. Gemini is cool, I had no idea until recently there was internet that wasn't the world wide web. Cool place. Thanks 4 having me peace up A town down.
-Garfield4Eva69
PS: I know my name was meant to be "Garfield 4 ever" but I do picture Garfield Piloting the EVA unit 69 when I read my name huehuehue