Planting Seeds

March 22: The back deck was a great place for starting garden seeds!

• Basil
• Bell Pepper (4 varieties)
• Brussels Sprouts
• Eggplant
• Red Cabbage
• Stevia
• Tomato (8 varieties)

I filled several aluminum foil trays with a soil mix, and after watering the seeds, I placed the covered trays in the windowsill behind our sofa to germinate.

Meanwhile, we collected empty eggshells in a half-gallon jar. For what purpose, you ask? I got the idea from a friend, who mentioned she heard that using a crushed eggshell solution to water seedlings may help feed them. Looking into it, I found that dissolved eggshells are considered by some to provide calcium to plants, which is especially beneficial for tomatoes. Does anyone know whether this is true? I figured I'd try it, since we had a ready supply of eggshells (especially from Sarah's baking).

I spread the shells in one layer on a cookie sheet and baked them for 10 minutes, which made them brittle enough to crumble. Eventually I had enough finely crushed shells to fill a quart jar. I will mix the powdered shells with water and a bit of vinegar to dissolve the calcium into solution.

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Fast-forward to April 24: The seeds have sprouted 3-4 weeks ago, stretching toward the meager light source. It became high time to transplant the delicate seedlings into individual pots to continue growing.

I am looking forward to growing the below heirloom Italian bell pepper variety, shared with me by my friend Meg, along with a few other heirloom tomato varieties she passed along.

The transplanted seedlings were placed back on the windowsill with labels, until they are sturdy enough to plant outside in the garden in just a couple of more weeks.

I water the plantlets each day; a clean milk jug with holes punched in the top works wonderfully as a gentle sprinkler.

Will keep you updated on the progress of the garden as the spring and summer move along.

~Hannah

Comments

[Dorothy Horton]

That's exciting! When you asked if we knew what you were going to do with the egg shells, I figured you were going to start your seedlings in them...then I continued reading and discovered I was wrong. I saw a photo of someone using them that way recently. The calcium thought is a good one! It will be fun to watch your garden's progress this year again. I always enjoy that!

[Stephanie in MI]

You're doing well with those. I stink at growing anything!

[Nic]

How exciting. I love your seedling trays - I would never have thought of using foil baking trays and cling wrap. What a good idea!
Sounds like a good way to use egg shells. Look forward to hearing the results.

[Anna]

Planting is exciting! It's so fun to watch things grow. I'm looking forward to hearing more about how the stevia does. Can't wait to hear about how the "egg shell water" works too. If it works, I'll certainly try it! Our poor houseplants could use a little extra medicine...or maybe it's just consistant watering that they need ;-). Speaking of eggs, my little sister got clever recently and used an old egg carton to plant seeds in. She just filled the egg cup side with dirt and put a few seeds in each cup. I was so proud of her! So if you ever run out of seedling trays, use the egg cartons left over from Sarah's baking!

Happy growing!

[victoria]

Looks like you're off to a great start. Hope your garden does really well this year.

Victoria

[my simple life]

hello hanna,
many seeds on the way. wish you luck with your seedlings!!!
greetings from germany,
regina

[Diane]

Wow, your seedlings look wonderful!

[Hannah]

The eggshells would be cute!

[Hannah]

Well, we'll see how these turn out. I killed what sprouted last year, and I ended up having to buy transplants!

[Hannah]

Using what's available! Actually I noticed the foil pans developing some tiny rust holes, so they may not be the best choice. One of the cardboard-ish trays I used was packing material form soap supplies--it worked perfectly!

[Hannah]

Yes, it is exciting. :) Hmmm, my stevia never sprouted this time. :( Have you ever seen how miniscule those seeds and sprouts are? Will let you know if I can tell any results from the egg shell watering. How creative and resourceful to use the leftover cartons, Elizabeth! :)

[Hannah]

Thanks! I'm sure you all have been busy beginning a garden too, unless you are waiting for a new location.

[Hannah]

Thanks you, Diane...I hope they turn into healthy plants.

[Amber]

Such a fun time of year! :) We just put a lot of little plants out in our garden today. I'm putting in some basil tomorrow; but I cheated with that; bought it at the store this afternoon! (Actually, everything we put in today was bought. But I did start 72 broccoli plants from seed earlier this year that have done well; does that count?: )) I've heard herbs are very difficult to start from seed.

Yes, the egg shell idea works! We use it. Actually, we cover the crushed shells with straight apple cider vinegar, and it is quite fun to watch, because it bubbles and foams like crazy. Once all the egg shells have settled, we strain them out and water our adult plants with the liquid; mostly the tomatoes. The calcium helps prevent blossom-end-rot. I've also heard of people using the egg shells for little planting pots that can be put straight into the ground when you're ready to move the seedlings to the garden, but we haven't done that. I think one of your other readers mentioned it too. :)

Thanks for sharing; looks great! :)

[Hannah]

Amber, thanks for the gardening input...it's especially nice to know you all have used the eggshell trick and had success. 72 broccoli plants?? Wow. My basil starts did well last year, and they are looking hardy this year, so I'm hoping they will turn out better than the poor stevia.

Hey, I enjoyed looking around your new sewing website! Great work.