I like learning how to do new things. I wanted to add a bit more to my last post about gardening. With seeds, I looked for bush-type varieties. The patio tomatoes are Burpee Veranda Red Hybrid, which only need 1 sq. foot of space. Of course, later I did plant these Abe Lincoln tomato seeds, which will need to be staked, caged or on a trellis. There are also bush variety beans, squash, and cucumber seeds available.
I bought some seeds online, but I also bought some seeds at Dollar Tree and Walmart. When I went looking for seed potatoes, there were none left at Lowes and Walmart, where I live. In fact, seeds sold out very fast at my Walmart this year. We have a Tractor Supply nearby and I found seed potatoes there. They had a ton of seeds left and discounted, so I stocked up on both vegetable and flower seeds.
I see so many things online that fuel my crafting, sewing, decorating, cooking and yes, gardening dreams, but long before the internet I did the same thing getting inspiration from magazines, books and TV. One thing I tried in recent months, with no success, is growing microgreens.
The first attempt I put the seeds on potting soil. After a day in a dark location, some of the seeds sprouted, but a white mold had grown faster than the microgreens and formed an eerie-looking web over the seeds and potting soil.
For the second attempt I ordered some natural fiber growing mats online and used Chinese takeout containers I kept (I repurpose a lot of food containers for various things). I tried radish, broccoli and beet seeds. The microgreen seed instructions recommended soaking the beet seeds overnight, as did the growing mat instructions, so I soaked the beet seeds and mats. I did not get great results:
The tray on the right were the beet seeds, which were a total failure. I have two cats now (stray kittens that showed up last fall). They had to examine the microgreens and ate most of them… So much for my microgreen experiment. I’ll try growing them again – later.
I bought a pack of catnip seed and a pack of some kind of grass seed for cats.
That’s how new projects go for me. Some turn out fantastic, but many are failures the first time. Very few look as great as the pictures and videos that inspired me. I learn as I fail my way toward success. The failures are part of the process with learning how to do new things.
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