Ready for my Closeup

I started seeds today.

I slipped into my organic cotton, size 8, white dress, threw on my favorite sustainably grown bamboo hat and went out to my heated greenhouse. There I filled some handmade artisan pots with potting soil and lovingly tucked each seed into it's soil cocoon. Then as I watered them I sang a Native People's blessing in the original language.

And that bit of nonsense boomeranged me back to reality in a hurry.

Starting seeds here involves very little that you'd see in a magazine layout. Nothing is new or remotely artisan but rather a tangible reminder of heavy duty make-doism. It also involves a lot of running back and forth from the house to the garage trying to find everything; this is great exercise but it sure hasn't helped me into a size 8 anything.

I start with sterilized potting soil in a turkey roasting pan that I scored at an auction. The plastic pots are originally from I don't know where and the rest are take-out coffee cups from my caffeine addicted husband. I label each pot with a stake cut from an old venetian blind and put them in kitty litter pans I bought several years ago at a dollar store. Even the seeds are mostly from previous years and some are saved from our own plants.

There is no greenhouse at our place and the plant shelves with lights that we built are mostly full already. Today I had to scout around for another spot to put the latest pots. We have a small chest freezer by a sunny window and near the furnace that should do; I hope I can remember I put them there.

I realize none of this makes me a candidate for a feature spread in Starting Seeds Monthly. But the seeds don't care if I'm in organic cotton or my ripped thrift store jeans, they grow anyway. And that is one great reason to garden.

Heating Up

Do you use bottom heat for seedlings? I never had but when I planted some tomatoes today, I decided to experiment a bit.

I don't have a heating mat and refuse to pay $20+ for one. I remember reading about using Christmas lights instead so I retrieved our one string of lights from the holiday decoration box and stuck them in the bottom of a styrofoam cooler (continuing the Christmas theme--the cooler was part of a present. Thanks, Grandma!). I set the pots in a pan on top of the lights, then put on the top to conserve heat and we went out frivoling the entire day.

When we returned, I checked the temperature in the cooler.

Whoa! Tomatoes like it warm but 105 degrees is probably a bit much. I left the lid off and soon it dropped.

Much better.

I also left some seedlings on the grow shelves, unheated, to compare.

Yes, that's really the temperature in our house*.

Now this isn't set up like a real scientific experiment as I have used different varieties of seeds from different years:

   In the cooler: 6 cells of Stupice(2011 seeds), 6 of Aunt Ruby's German Green (2012).
   Unheated: 6 cells of Yellow Pear Cherry (2011), 3 pots of Principe Borghese (2010), one pot of Matt's Wild Cherry (2010), and 2 pots of Morena Paste (unknown year but at least several years old).

Despite that, it should give me an indication whether bottom heat is worth it for warmth loving seeds. I'll keep you posted. And even if it doesn't work, the cooler makes a great nightlight!


*Yes, the plant stand is right next to the woodstove. However, the two plus ricks we bought last month turned out to be too green to burn. So they're aging for next year and we're back to propane.

Our Port in a Storm

Previously on the "Closet Project"...

The drywall was up. Next step--the door.

Holy moly! The price of solid doors is over the moon. Our nearest Habitat ReStore had a wide selection of hollowcore doors but, since this is our storm shelter, we felt those wouldn't do.

We put on our how-can-we-do-this-reasonably thinking caps and decided the door to the office closet could be sacrificed. Voila!, sturdy door.

I spackled and taped, primed and painted. Then it was time for another trip to the lumber store for the bookshelf supplies.

Among other things, we needed twelve 1"x8"x8' boards. We started at Home Depot. We should know better by now; we inspected the entire stack of boards and not one, not even one, was straight. So the next day we visited the True Value up the road and finished the lumber purchase (side note: insert second Holy Moly here for price of lumber).

February construction and an unheated garage=staining and cutting inside. Several headaches and messes later, we had the material prepped.

Got the framework up,

Signed on the back for posterity,

Added the adjustable shelves (made adjustable by drilling a gazillion, tedious, little holes) and the contents from four small bookcases. Ta da!

Well, almost ta da; we still need to add trim and one more shelf.

The entire project--wall and bookcase--cost about $350* more hours than I bothered to keep track of, and quite a few sore muscles.

My idea of a fun time!!



* the refund from the generator, see  Buyer Beware --yes, it was finally resolved!

It'll Do

We're still waiting for our garden plot to be plowed and disced. In the meantime, I am craving fresh greens.

So, since we've had many days above freezing and our soil is barely frozen, I figured I could start some lettuce in the bed by our front porch. It does need some protection both from frosts and the cat.

We decided to knock together a temporary cold frame.

Scrap wood, pieces of this and that. It ain't pretty but it will get the job done.

The Rasely family creed.