Basil (or another reason to love teaching Tech Comm)
It’s been far too long since there’s been an Apartment Gardening update, don’t you agree? OK, perhaps not. But I feel like sharing anyway.
I was pretty successful with growing basil from seedlings I bought at the nursery last year, and thought I'd just do that again. I never had much luck with seeds before, although my grandparents started flats and flats of herbs and veggies early every year when I was little.
A few weeks ago, one of my Sci/Tech Presentations students, L., did her demonstrative presentation on How To Start Plants From Seed. And then I wandered by a 99-cent rack of seeds at the supermarket and thought, “Why the hell not?” I followed L.’s instructions and then went off to Chicago and when I got back, poof, basil seedlings! And now I’m thinking that if it’s really this easy, then I’m going to grow basil all year in the window. That little packet of seeds will last me for several more rounds — far more economically efficient than buying seedlings or buying basil at the store. Plus, this way is much more fun.
Comments
I'm very curious what her instructions were, and how different they might have been from the usual start tips that come on the package. Share secrets? I'm confined to apartment gardening, and would love to find success from seeds...
Posted by: Chris Geyer | April 1, 2006 9:28 PM
Her instructions weren't really extraordinary, but the big things were to plant at the proper depth (which I'm bad about) and to enrich the medium with leaf mold. I think those two things were what made the difference. (I also added a wee dose of liquid fertilizer.) My mom has also had luck with soaking the seeds overnight before planting them.
If you've got a sunny window, give it a shot! If you've already got a pot and some soil, then the worst that can happen is that you wasted 99 cents and some compost.
Posted by: Krista | April 2, 2006 1:29 PM
YUM! Home-made pesto is the BESTO.
Posted by: madeline | April 3, 2006 8:11 PM
Ummm, you soak big, hard seeds that have a difficult time sprouting, like morning glories and castor beans, etc. The rest of 'em you just plant.
When I was starting seeds inside before the last frost, I'd get the soil to the right moisture level after planting (moist, not soggy -- plants need both air and water in the soil), then tent the tray with plastic, to keep the soil from drying out too fast. If you have low humidity and don't tent, you have to sprinkle the soil several times a day to keep the moisture level even -- sprouting seeds dessicate quickly, so this is important.)
Once the seeds sprout up through the soil, the tent can come off, as long as you check the moisture levels regularly. Don't tent in direct sunlight, because that causes too much solar heating -- most plant tissues can't operate well above 85-90°. My seedlings were under grow lights, which is another necessity if you don't have many hours of bright natural light a day.
I probably should write a page or two on my site about this, because this is barely enough info to be any help at all, but maybe it'll get a few more seeds to sproutin'.
Posted by: mom | April 4, 2006 7:04 AM