Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Garlic Chive seed planting (indoors)

For the sake of getting something growing in the apartment I planted some of the Garlic Chive seeds (from my last post) last night.
My supplies: soil, yogurt cups, tape, toothpicks, spoon, x-acto knife, plastic food container, scissors, marker, seeds & plastic wrap (not pictured)

Step 1-Use x-acto knife to cut small holes in the bottom of the yogurt cups:
Step 2-Fill yogurt cups with soil, place seeds in soil, sprinkle a little soil over the top & moisten soil:
Step 3-Label the yogurt cups:

Step 4-Place yogurt cups into food container. Place toothpicks in yogurt cups:
Step 5-Place plastic wrap over the container/yogurt cups resting gently on the toothpicks (so as not to bake the seeds). Do not seal the plastic wrap, leave room for air to flow:

The final product (above) is now resting atop a kitchen cabinet until sprouts are visible, when it will be transfered to a sunny window. I like this little setup because the materials were found within my living space. Better the yogurt cups and food tray go to use then getting tossed in the trash/recycling bin.

9 comments:

Nell Jean said...

Great post, informative and fun.

I have yogurt containers all over, awaiting planting.

debsgarden said...

Hi there! I hope your garlic chives do well. I have them growing in my herb bed, and I love to cook with them. I hope you enjoy blotanical as much as I have. I've been a member since Nov. 10, and I really like getting to visit gardens all over the world.

Dan said...

I have done a seed swap with The Veggie Patch Re-imagined before as well. Good luck with your chives. I am not far off from starting seeds either. I usually start the storage onions from seed near the end of Jan to give them a good heads start. If you have any questions along the way you can drop me a line at veggyblog@gmail.com

Fred said...

Nell- oh I know it! yogurt cups, milk/oj cartons, 2 liter bottles. My living space is small and I'm running out of room ;-)

Deb-Thanks for the welcome & well wishes!

Dan-If i officially had a plot in the community garden I'd be in a planning frenzy! Also, thanks for the offer for help, If I think of anything I will shoot you an email.

Ottawa Gardener said...

You gotta love yoghurt containers - one of gardener's best friends, I say. Garlic Chives, you'll be happy to soon discover seem immune to plant problems. Mine have survived being drowned in water for weeks (outside in a pot without drainage), drought of several months (yeah I know), freezing freezing freezing cold (I do live in Ottawa, Canada), blistering heat, deep shade and full sun.

I might be forgetting something but if yours don't make it, blaim me (I did give you the seeds afterall) and I"ll send more but I be they'll do just fine.

Muhammad khabbab said...

wow nice idea. best of luck!!!!

Shaheen said...

Your really efficient. I have a packet of garlic seeds for 2 years now that I have just not got round to growing. I will ensure I do next year.

I love the way the recycling bug gets holds of us veg growers, yogurt pots. Or it's jsut being thrifty, either way, it GOOD!

Anonymous said...

Seeing you germinating seeds in the chilly time of the year reminds me of when I lived in Toronto. Although it was freezing, having a forced air furnace system sure helped get the seeds going. Cheers

ferne said...

I did a lot of seed starting in my one bedroom apartment on a bakers rack that I attached some grow lights too. I rented a garden plot at a community garden to plant in. You can do a lot with very little if you really want to. This year I finally have a house with a lot of land to plant in and am looking forward to that, but loved the sense of accomplishment I got from making do with what I had...I learned a lot that I will use in this new garden!