April 07, 2011

One for the Wind, One for the Bird, and One for Me!

March 29th
So, I have been seeding. I’m off to a bit of a late start this year with the exception of my succession planting because I have yet to build my hoop house. But it’s better late then never, right? Once things settle down at the end of the season we will erect the greenhouse(s?)! I am SO excited about this. My Mom and I will keep our Greens business going through the Winter months. You know, those dreary depressing days that leave your lips chapped and heart aching for anything green? It will also mean that I can seed all of our own plants which will be so incredible! We’ll have so much more variety, we’ll get a much earlier start and a longer growing season, and last but certainly not least we will take a huge chunk out of our expenses. But at the moment I am making the most of what I have. It’s so important in life to make the best of things. The best of the situation you are in what ever it may be. Even though we will never make things perfect we can always make things better. Truly, I think, just the trying makes it a little better. Just Striving. Hence I seeded 1,000 or so plants outside this morning. Or rather ‘today’ for it took up more then just the morning. I already had some going but they had to be transplanted yesterday. The process of gently removing the fragile baby seedlings, you can sing to them if you find that the recycled oxygen helps them to thrive ))!,and giving them a pot in which they have a little room to grow. It’s always best to have a little room to grow. Did you know that a goldfish will grow according to the amount of space it’s given? Therefore if put in a small tank it will remain small but if placed in a small pond it can grow up to 7 times the original size. But I should get back to our plants. This process is continued until the plants are large and healthy enough to go right into the ground. But of coarse this should be after your last frost date. In the words of The Barefoot Farmer ‘Transplanting happens after the plants have gotten their first true leaves.’ A few helpful hints would be: Always label pots/trays/flats/and buckets. It’s great to come up with a number system to your liking. One that works well for you. This way you have a number on your pot/tray/flat/bucket that corresponds with a note in your notebook giving you all the info you need on the plant easily accessible. Trust me, you think you’ll remember so many things but when the time comes you really have no clue. I’m a paper person. I like to have notebooks dedicated to a certain purpose and organized accordingly. Don’t get me wrong though, I’m extremely creative and my bones cringe when I try to turn towards mathematical thinking. It doesn’t take an organized ex-army commander to do this, just sit down and decide what works for you. I like notebooks and vanilla folders, but that’s just me. I’m also a writer which greatly impacts how I go about things. As well as being an artist. Something you might enjoy is taking your seed packs and cutting out the label, picture, and info and gluing or taping them in a notebook or folder above what ever notes you have. This way if you write:
Candy Cain Striped Zinnias Four 6packs Seeded March 28th
Underneath it you have it’s seed packet and a lovely refreshing photo. Just an idea. Something I do. It’s all about what works for you.
Water frequently!! I can’t stress this enough. Today I watered my trays at least five times and each time came back thirty minuets later just to find, to my dismay, that they were dry as a bone. So keep soaking them. Do this with a mist setting on a hose or a spray bottle. Do it from directly above them. It’s important to keep them moist but a heavy setting could easily drown them and spraying at an angle could wash away your seed or uncover it. Let them drink what they need but you don’t want to drowned the poor little guys.
Going back to singing to your seedlings. I’m not crazy. Well, maybe I am but I think it’s the people that think they’re normal that are the real nut jobs. Just a theory. But anyway! This Is really for me. Music helps me work. I do a better job and are more consistant. It also keeps me in a better frame of mind. So if there is something that helps you in this way I encourage you to take advantage of it. Don’t stereotype. There is no set way in farming. If it helps you don’t let someone else put it down. Different people find different attire easier to work in than others; some like to get up very early to beat the heat others would rather work really late.
I’m growing long winded I suppose. I’m not any kind of connoisseur on any thing. I’m a farmer. I’m other things too but right now were talking about farming. So this is from one farmer to another. Helpful tidbits.
The most helpful being: listen. Listen to others and listen to the old timers in your area. I’m organic. I’m farm fresh. I’m a trend setter. I’m stubborn. But regardless of what ever good aspirations you have there is always wisdom to be had from the old timers. They are set in there ways but some of their ways are set because they work.
So my last tid bit from my farm work today, much of which was spent seeding would be: don’t be too thin. I have been working in a friends green house in an effort to help the new farmers and learn whatever they have to offer. She is beginning a plant business. I noticed as I worked that there seemed to be a high fatality rate, so to speak. Many of the trays were only three quarters or half full. So when I began seeding I asked ‘How many seeds should I sow per pot?’
I didn’t question the answer because the women running the operation isn’t exactly a listener. But she only does one. Maybe there is something wrong with my seeds. Maybe I don’t have a green thumb. Maybe I’m doing them badly. But long ago my mother taught me something that seems to work best.
One for the wind, one for the bird, and one for me!

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