I was recently directed to a phenomenal documentary about the food we eat. It’s called “Food, Inc.” and it is a real eye-opener. How many of us really know where the food we eat comes from? How many of us even care? What you need to do is ask yourself those questions, watch “Food, Inc.”, and then re-examine your priorities.
VIDEO TAKEN OFFLINE – Some one doesn’t want you to see this information
We are providing this here because we feel strongly that this is something everyone should know about. We also feel strongly that the people who did such fine work deserve our support, so we highly recommend that you purchase your own copy of this movie. For more information, please visit the official “Food, Inc.” website and give them your full support. They deserve it!
I just want to show you how to start off your seedlings right, so that you get the most nutritious sprouts, and healthiest seedlings to begin your garden with.
As you can see, I have just taken regular potting mix and poured it into my planting trays. Then I soaked the soil, and watered from the bottom, so that the soil become completely hydrated.
I did this about an hour before I planned on planting my seedlings, so that the soil would have time to completely absorb the water that was available to it, and so future waterings don’t wash away my seeds.
I put about an inch of water in the tray, after it had soaked, so that it will self water for a while. Now I have taken some seeds from my seed bank. Today I am going to plant some tomatoes and a couple other plants. It is March 4th, so in my area that means I can start my tomatoes indoors, as well as a few other plants.
I made a little marker to stick in the plants so that I can tell later what they are because seedlings, all begin to look like one another after a while.
Next I made a small depression in the soil about twice the depth of the seed size, so a 1/8 inch seed gets a 1/4 deep hole. Just drop 3-6 seeds in each hole, and cover them back up with dirt. I usually put a few seeds in each hole so that I can get maximum germination.
Another thing that I often do to increase germination rates, is to presoak the seeds in warm water for about an hour, or let the sprout in a couple layers of paper towel, and then transplant them after 3 days or so, into the planting pots.
Once I am done putting all the seeds in, I will put the clear dome over top of the seedlings to maintain the moisture, and help with heat retention. In three or four days, when the sprouts have started to show, I will prop the dome up and allow some airflow, and then a day or so later, will remove it completely.
I will post another article in a few days, showing you some of the secrets to having healthy seedlings.
Living in a small apartment, or even in a city condo, doesn’t mean that you can’t grow some of your own fresh food. Container gardening, takes the best of both worlds, Fresh Country Produce, Big City Living!
To grow things in a container, you need compost, and a small amount of soil, (only about 10% of the total volume). Buy potting mix that has organic components and peat moss.
First thing you are going to need to do, is build some shelves under your south facing windows. Cheap, sturdy shelves, can be built using nothing more than cinderblocks with boards stretched across them. Lower shelves can hold supplies, while the top shelf is reserved for your precious plants.
Second, you need to find containers to garden in. These don’t need to be anything fancy. Milk cartons cut in half work great, so scavenge in your recycling bin, and see if your neighbors have any containers they are throwing away.
The Key to Container Gardening Is Layering!
Third, prepare the container, by wetting down some newspaper, and adding it to the bottom of the container. The newspaper provides an absorbent mat, to help protect any roots that get down that far, as well as providing lasting moisture release.
Then add a 2” Layer of good soil on top of the wet newspaper. This soil will provide a nutrient reservoir for your plants as they get deeper roots and begin to really grow.
Layers that should be in your container (starting from the bottom)
1. Wet Newspaper (3 Sheets)
2. Soil (2”)
3. Ripped Newspaper (1/2”)
4. Peat Moss (2”)
5. Compost Mulch (2”)
6. Sand (optional) (1”)
7. Potting Mix (2”)
Repeat steps 4-7 until the container is full.
Fourth, Cover the soil, with a new layer of ripped newspaper, and then add, 2” of Peat Moss, and 2” of Potting Mix. This layering effect allows the small container to replicate the environment found in the ground, in a much smaller space.
Fifth, on top of your potting mix, now is the time to add a half inch of sand if the plants require, then another layer of compost, peat moss, and then finally potting mix. Repeat as Necessary to fill pot Once the pot is full, scoop out some soil, and plant your seedlings!
Sixth, Enjoy the fruits of your labor! (or veggies)
Simple Tips for City Dwellers
Easy Fertilizer Recipe
Mix Together 2 ounces of Molasses 1/2 Cup hot water 2 ounces of Clear Ammonia 2 ounces of Apple Cider Vinegar
When they are well mixed, add to a gallon of water. You can then feed this to your plants daily as you water!
City Composting
Not all city dwellers have a way to compost kitchen left overs, There is a solution though! Put your leftovers into a blender with water, and blend it until there are no big chunks left. Your gardens can be watered directly with this, or a small five gallon bucket can become your indoor com-poster! If you are using the bucket make sure you strain out the water before adding it to your bucket, and keep lots of leaves, or grass clippings in it to maintain the smell.
Mulch Tips
Grass clipping, bark mulch (ground), Chopped leaves, all make great mulch. Don’t use foods that will rot, or attract insects, (no fruit rinds, etc)
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