The Fall “Seed-Starting Freight Train”
Meghan and Jack got married yesterday!!! Yayyyyyyyy!!!! Congrats to them! lol nothing to do with the farm, but I do love them. They’re a hilarious couple on YouTube. Their channel? @MeghanandJack
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Anywho, today is Aug 13th! Have I started any seeds? Only my rudbeckia. So you and I are probably in the same boat. Get your seeds together (see my last blog) and take courage!
I really want to get a seed blocker for next year. It would be very helpful. But it’s not in the budget at the moment. So we’re bootstrapping. What am I using? I am experimenting with disposable baking trays. I’ll poke some holes on the bottom, fill it up with soil, mass plant, and then prick out the seedlings. (Search YouTube: pricking out seedlings.) After they sprout I can get them into their own little container to grow on.
So, I am behind. But it’s not too bad. A part of why I held back planting is because for the past few years, the first frost (aka first 32 degree night in fall) came later than expected. I don’t want my plants to be too big before going into winter. 3-5 inches is ideal.
When planning, my list became quite long compared with last year. I became really anxious - heart palpitations. There were seeds I didn’t yet have. And I couldn’t afford to spend a lot of money. (Thankfully I scouted the Dollar Stores earlier this year and got as many things as I could) Then I realized I didn’t have to do that to myself. Even a little more than I grew last year would be great. You just have to improve little by little.
So, what’s my narrowed down list? Rudbeckia, Feverfew, Yarrow, Nigella, Bachelor Buttons - most definitely. Greenery: Honeywort and Bupleurum. Spikes: Delphiniums, Snapdragons (and hopefully Salvia). Lacy bits: Dara. And lastly: Sweet Peas and Sweet William. Ok… so it doesn’t seem very narrowed down… But admittedly last year I grew: 3 rudbeckias, 3 feverfew, 8 yarrow, 4 Nigella and 6 snapdragons in a 4x4 ft space. You can grow a lot in a small space. But modesty is key if you’re gonna enjoy this game.
As a caregiver, going back and forth from one home to another, it’s tricky to work out my grow light schedule (turning them on and off). I’ll keep you posted on how that goes. (Oh yeah, if I haven’t said it before, you most probably need to start these inside if your temps are really hot right now. Most of these seeds need temps between 60-70 degrees F to grow and will struggle if it’s hotter. For this you will need a grow light. (I recommend Gary Pilarchik’s YouTube video: Use Shop Lights to Grow Garden Transplants. The video description will have an Amazon link that will take you to some grow light options. It saves you the headache of trying to figure out the Lumen and Kelvin stuff)
You can get a lot more details about what different cool flowers need at The Gardener’s Workshop on YouTube as well.
(I know I point you guys to YouTube a lot. But whenever I do this it’s because the explanation would be a lot easier to understand by video.)
Welp, that’s the update! On the farm the sunflowers are still going strong. And since my plot is shady and my vegetables are struggling, my neighbors have been kind enough to throw a zucchini or tomato my way every now and then (thanks neighbors!)
Hope you guys are enjoying your flowers right now. I’d love to see your gardens and what you’re up to. Are you up to your neck in weeds? (We all are lol) Please tag me @lovelyrainflowerfarmmd on Facebook and Instagram so I can see your spoil!
See you guys next week!
Toodles!
Kerri.
