Dreary winter days can be depressing, but if you look closely, daffodil shoots are pushing through muddy soil and buds are already swelling along branches.
During the winter we can have some incredibly heavy storms followed by dry, cold sunny days. On those sunny mornings, you can find me in my robe, raking, pruning roses or cleaning up storm damage, followed closely by my young white Lab, Sofie.
As I work, I’m always amazed at how fast the water dissipates and how much healthier the plants look. Just one sunny day seems to bring more vigorous-looking plants. Green is more intense and the camellia leaves are shiny clean. Birds chatter sociably in the bare branches, and Sofie is happily scraping worms off the patio. These magic mornings make us want to breathe more deeply and wish the day would linger forever.
Then there are the gray rainy days that affect some of us physically as well as mentally. Lack of sunshine and fresh air can really get us down. I have two choices. I can turn into a dust bunny and eat chocolate, or I can head for the garage.
The garage wins. I play my favorite salsa CD, plug in a space heater, turn on the lights and set up the fluorescent grow lights. These are inexpensive and available at nurseries and other gardening centers.
Now it’s toasty and bright in the garage, and it’s time to plant seeds for the summer garden. Just thinking about the first juicy tomato is a good incentive, so I’ll plant ‘Sungold’ tomato seeds.
My work table is an old card table covered with a sheet of plastic. Several plastic six-pack containers must be scrubbed in a bucket with eight parts of water to two parts bleach. This crucial step prevents damping off, a fungal disease that lingers in almost all used containers. Damping off is characterized by healthy seedlings that suddenly lie down and die for no apparent reason.
I buy regular potting mix or make my own seed-starting mix of half sphagnum peat moss and half perlite. Perlite, an exploded light-weight volcanic mineral, looks like tiny pieces of popcorn with slightly rough edges. New seedling roots like to cling to these rough edges. Perlite retains water, while allowing the excess to drain.
I fill the six-packs with thoroughly moist mix and sprinkle a few seeds on top. Then I cover the seeds lightly with additional moist mix. I have learned to keep the seeds moist until germination takes place and to make labels for everything with permanent ink because regular ink fades fast. Labels disappear in my yard, a hint that I will soon find Sofie gnawing on something white that says Sngld.
Seeds need bottom heat. They germinate when soil temperature is about 70°F, so I lay out thick old towels from a thrift shop on 4- by 6-foot plywood on sawhorses. Heat pads are another alternative. They are a little pricey, but you can use them year after year.
Miniature greenhouses as small as two feet by three feet are available by mail order. You can find them online and compare prices. I keep my seedlings in the garage under fluorescent light for at least 12 hours a day, misting the plants often.
As soon as the seedlings have their first set of true leaves (the ones that appear after the first two leaves), I add half-strength fish emulsion to the mist, about 1-1/2 teaspoons per gallon of water. When they become a little stronger, I move them outside to a well-protected area with indirect light. They need fresh air and sunlight to grow properly. Indoor air is too dry. If they have long floppy stems, I have waited too long to put them outside. The east side of the house is a perfect site for morning sun and heat.
If the nights are cold, I bring my infant seedlings inside for awhile. When the soil warms to 55°F, I transplant them into enriched soil. The time is right when the soil becomes crumbly and all kinds of weeds appear.
Time flies as I putter in my warm garage. I forget all about the rain. I don’t even notice that I’m still in my robe.