But with my interest in cooking, it was becaming more important to me to use fresh ingredients, and so I've been trying my hand at growing herbs for the past two years. This year, I am ready to branch out.
What helped me branch out was a post I read on one of my favorite blogs, Get Rich Slowly. The author lives in Oregon, where he and his wife keep a garden of fruits and vegtables. His wife wrote a book review on The Bountiful Container by Rose Marie Nichols McGee and Naggie Stuckey. I went to the bookstore to check it out, and I was completely sold on the informative format and the fact that one could grow zucchinis, apples, and peaches in a container. I picked up a copy and decided on what to try this year - strawberries.
I had to make a choice between buying starts or growing them by seed. I wanted to buy starts but I couldn't find a store that sold the variety I wanted and if I purchased over the internet, I had to buy about 25, which is way more than I need. So with the encouragement of Kayla, my gardening-expert friend, I purchased a packet of seeds of the variety I wanted and decided to grow them myself. I planted them on 15 February, since the packet said that it took about three to four weeks for the seeds to germinate, and then would need time before being transplanted to it's final home by the last spring frost.
Well, to my surprise, I started to see green flecks one week after planting (see above). I was so excited, I took pictures even though it was 11pm and I was traveling for work the next day.
Thomas took care of them during the week and by the time I came home, they had grown their first set of true leaves!
I had planted extra seeds for insurance, but I ended up with too many. I cut some at the soil line today, so the ones left over have room to grow and not compete with the others. I still expect that I may have more than I can care for, so if anyone is interested, let me know and I can give you one!
I am completely excited at my progress, and I can't wait to update everyone on how it's going next week!
Congrats on the sprouts!!!! If you don't already, be sure to get some good lighting for your tiny babies. Don't feel the need to go expensive, a florescent light from a hardware store will be just fine. :-) I got 4' ones for $8, which are the cheapest, but there are smaller, more aesthetically pleasing ones for under $20 as well.
ReplyDeleteHow are the babies doing? I ended up getting some strawberry starts myself (inspired by you!), but just Allstars, nothing fancy like your Alpine. :-)
ReplyDeleteI know, I've been bad...I think my little ones are doing well, but while I was traveling for work this week, I think they got too big for their peat pellets and so they look a bit droopy... I've temporarily put them in a bigger pot (disposable cups) until I get their final home ready. I will try to post something tonight!
ReplyDelete