Try as they might, the basement was too cold for the first round of seeds to thrive. I sort of figured it would be an issue but held out some hope since the grow setup fit well with the rest of my gardening junk. Now that seeds, potatoes and garlics have been moved upstairs, there’s been a lot of improvement.
The garlics on the bottom have been doing okay, I think too much water on my part. But they also had a visit from our resident vacuum cleaner, Potato. She decided to give them a taste and pulled a couple of cloves from their pots and onto her bed near the fireplace. Thankfully, she only took two and has given up on chowing down on any others. The potatoes on the top haven’t changed much and I don’t know if they’ll pull through but they can’t all be winners~
With the help of some shower curtains and being next to a sunny window and some baseboard heating, the seeds have started to enjoy their little humid box. Here are some herb trays along with a couple of blood orange seeds I salvaged after making an olive oil blood orange cake.
Above are some little cilantro and rosemary babies finally peeking out of their dirt homes. Other plants not pictured include lemon balm, chives, parsley and lavender.
Looking at the calendar, I can’t believe it’s almost April! Although it’s going to be a tight fit on these grow shelves, I’m going to start some proper crop plants this week and hopefully see some more sprouts come up as the weather warms.
Along side getting seeds started and making adjustments to my back garden plan, I’m also prepping to run my booth at a farmers market!
The great folks at the Wilton Farmers Market are giving me a chance to rub elbows with other gardening and gardening adjacent nerds to talk shop, share recipes and enjoy the wonderful spring and summer Maine has to offer.
Until then I’ll be prepping my garden maps, creating beginner-friendly permaculture mini-projects?? and buying boring stuff like a canopy and banner.
During our first year in Maine, my seed starting station was an awkward table in the living room that was littered with heat mats, your typical seed trays and covers, and any and all berry containers. It was a mad scientist-inspired setup that worked pretty good and I got some great plants out of. Now that the tractor fairy came and we have a list of outdoor projects we’re itching to do, it’s time to expand my grow out.
Like most of the house, the basement is also kind of an open floor. There’s very few proper walls and what rooms are created are just suggestions. Next to our haphazard pantry, my garden storage nook is also serving as this years grow out. The light and heat mat set up don’t exactly mesh well and my plant labeling system is doomed to fail but I’m happy I took the time to set it up. While it’s a bit inconvenient to maintain and easy to forget about, the upstairs looks more put together.
In an attempt to keep some moisture within the shelves, I added a shower curtain to the bottom half of the shelf. I think I’m going to add another to the top half since it can’t hurt and I don’t have a use for them otherwise. And since I put this together a couple weeks ago, I’ve replaced my noble berry containers with a proper lid for the top most shelf.
round one grow
Below the bottom shelf and propped up on random boxes are some garlic and potatoes.
many garlic cloves
We go through a lot of garlic in the house in it’s various forms, so getting a jump on having a garden flush with the stuff is a priority. All of these green guys came from a bulb I rescued from the grocery store that was terribly sprouted and probably destined for the trash can~ So far, they seem to be happy with their living situations and my first attempt at garlic growing is off to a good start.
not the prettiest plant~
Along with garlic, potatoes are a big staple in our house. Last year, a pantry potato was growing eyes on eyes so into the dirt it went, and out came like 4 potatoes! I do try and limit food waste as much as possible ’cause it drives me insane but here I am again, apologizing to the forgotten pantry spuds and asking them to give me another chance.
Herb City, Population: Growing!
cooking herbs, tea herbs and comfrey
more cooking herbs, soil experiments and catnip
My garden plan is a bit strange this year and there’s a lot of things I won’t be indoor sowing for another month or so. In the meantime, I wanted to get an herb collection going so once Memorial Day strikes, these bad boys can get outside and start thriving. In the next few years, we’d like to build and stock an apothecary for teas, spice and herb blends, dried flowers, mushroom powders, and more!
Below is what has been planted, with much more to come.
I haven’t done a lot of these plants before, let alone inside, so I’m taking some more diligent notes this time around and can’t wait to see how they do~
