starting to scratch the itch...

last tuesday (15.12.09) i set up a small area of a spare bedroom for seed propagation. knowing that light was the most important factor of starting from seed, i needed to create a good setup that was expandable as the plants grow taller. i had an old shelf system leftover from a small inexpensive greenhouse from a few years ago that would be perfect. the shelves could be removed over time to make room for the growing plants. i then needed to set up a light source that was attached to a timer, so i could provide the seedlings with 12 hours of light per day.

i have about 14 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes seeds to choose from. having to pick 2 was very hard, so i passed the buck to my girlfriend to pick one and i'd pick the other. she chose green pineapple and i chose purple calabash.

obviously needing soil to grow the seeds in, i went with what i had leftover in the garage from last years garden....compost. sure compost may not be the best soil type to grow seedlings in, but i am trying to use it to my advantage. i am putting an old container below the seed tray to catch any excess water. actually, the old container will act as a reservoir that i hope will create a compost tea. as the upper soil in the seed tray dries, it will wick the compost tea up from the reservoir container. i have really no idea how well this will work.

today (21.12.09) when i came home from work, i noticed one of the seeds has broken thru the soil! only 6 days after planting, the seed is starting to reach for the lights. it's one of the purple calabash seeds, and i'm really excited about this variety. supposedly, it's a rare variety, so i hope i can save some seeds if all goes well this winter.

well, thru a week of waiting, i finally have something tangible to keep an eye on, i just hope more seeds follow the lead of the first. i want them all to do well but because of space, i may have to select one seedling from each variety and grow 2 plants....natural selection!

i shouldn't leave out my helpers; my girlfriend behind the camera, cooper the labrador and winston the bulldog...thanks guys!