For those of us that are parents you probably remember that feeling of anticipation waiting on the birth of your child. That new life.
Hope. Excitement. Wonder.
Then after all the waiting, the moment. The first cry. The signal that life has been born. What will they produce in their lifetime? Will they live a happy life full of success?
There are not a lot of things or moments on this earth that can give you those feelings like the birth of a child. But, I can’t help feel a little bit that way when I find my seeds have made their way into the world. How much will they produce? Will they live a strong healthy life?
I have become a father again. It is my job to take care of the little ones. Time to nurture them and help them grow into the plants God has intended them to be.
Isn’t this one cute? It looks just like me. This is the first baby photo of the tomato plant. I love how the seed actually took a ride to the top of the plant. It was the chance to stand up proud (on a pedestal) and say “Look what I did”.
A group photo of my children.
Remember my heat mat experiment. The lettuce on the right was grown using the mat, and the left was not. Notice how much taller the plants are on the right. So, obviously the heat mat does play a part, and can make a difference in the speed of growth. Though, I am not sure if it is a good thing to grow that tall that fast. Notice how spindly the plants on the right look, and they are not as dark green as the left. I bet over the long run the non heated plants will produce more. Time will tell. Stay tuned.
Spindly seedlings usually become that way because they are reaching for the light. Look at them stretching out. I am going to be keeping the grow light on about 16-18 hours a day now, real close so they don’t have to reach as far. Though like I said before, the lettuce in the non heated tray is not like this, so maybe it is not just the light but the temperature of the soil that the seedlings are trying to get away from.
More to come as I anticipate the birth of the leek, eggplant and red pepper. Looking at the red pepper seeds it looks like they are dilated to a 10 and I can see the head emerging. I better go wash up and put on my gown. Delivery time! Wish me luck.
Interesting to see your experiment with the heat mat. I just started tomatoes and I’m using a heat mat for the first time. They germinated within 5-7 days and they look healthy, but they don’t look nearly as robust as seedlings I’ve done without heat. Could be any number of things I imagine. Thanks for sharing.
Paul, this is very inspiring to start my own ‘vegetable garden’ in my urban home, balcony. I’ve never done it before but I feel it’s about time to give it a try. Love your blog and thanks for sharing. cheers!
After reading your blog the other day, I decided to once again sprout seeds. I thought I would do this for my pet birds first. It’s day three and I see the little sprouts on the seeds. It is so exciting! The birds just love sprounted seeds and they’re very good for them. I’m looking forward to sprouting more for our family. Thanks for the inspiration.
You are too funny. Anxious to get started on my little garden. Maybe this weekend!
Love your blog!! Fun to read, very entertaining!
I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees the early stages of gardening and equates it to pregnancy and birth.
Aaahhh! I have’nt even got my seeds planted yet!
That is very interesting about the heat mat. I have been contemplating using one next year. I’ll be sure to check back to see how your babies are doing. Congrats on all the new arrivals. Have a paisley day.~KeriAnne
I Love the sight of the first seedling! It’s really an exciting moment, and it never gets old, no matter how long you’ve been at it.
I am sad that I will have to wait until next year to have so much fun as this deployment will take me past the spring but… your pictures bring me joy. The waiting (I had lots of anticipation) to see what the heat pad did was answered by great pics.Thank you.
Love it!
I so “got it”! Last Spring was my first go at starting thousands of seeds in a larger greenhouse. I was so excited when the first tiny green leaves poked through.
I stressed over growth rates, watering, temperatures. I don’t know how many nights I trudged through the snow with a flashlight to check on the heaters and babies. Very soon I will be doing it all again!
Stacey
Do you have a fan blowing lightly on them? It helps to stengthen them. I learned this late in the process last year. Most of them transplanted ok, but they were so scrawny or spindly compared to the seeds I started outside. Good luck! I like your blog!!! = )
I haven’t tried a fan, but that does make sense. I could see how that would work in strengthening them. Does it seem to dry out your soil faster? Thanks for the tip.
Your welcome! I didn’t notice it drying out any faster. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep an extra eye on it though.