Good Evening SuperForest
A quick update from Overexcited Adventures in Gardening here in London town! Last week I told of my first foray into seed growing, and lo! the zucchini, they have sprouted:
this picture makes me so happy
The sunflowers too have been progressing apace. From this:
to this:
awesome biodegradable pots and, in the background, tiny peppers taking their turn in the old faithful foil dish
I bought a “dwarf” sunflower variety which are supposed to grow full size flowers on shorter stalks (as a six footer may be a bit overwhelming in the flat) and I planted several so that, fingers crossed, if they grow I can give them to friends – who doesn’t like a sunflower? They do this super-cool unfolding thing, where they first emerge from the soil doubled over and then, all of a sudden unfurl upwards. So cool.
For the other seedlings, I’m in the process of learning a valuable lesson about faith: I guess I found it hard to believe that such tiny seeds could yield whole plants in real life (yes, okay) so I threw quantity at the mix and have ended up with a heap of happy seedlings that are far too closely packed. But! This gave me the opportunity to prick things out:
“pricked out” marigold and nasturtium seedlings, rocket seeds sown – SuperForester Heather has done a much better job than I at sowing lettuces
Yep, “pricking out” – technical gardening term courtesy of my incredibly helpful Mum (seriously, I’ve suggested her and my Dad set up a premium line number to field calls from their daughters on Gardeners’ Question Time and various other practical and skill matters – I reckon they’d make a mint!).
When the seedlings started looking too crowded in their foil dishes I decided it was time that they move into flash new pads with a little more space. I have no pictures of the process, as I was not only covered in compost, but also in full concentration mode as I was so scared of giving the wee things shellshock from the transplant. But, following Mum’s instructions, it involved preparing the compost in the new homes, using the handle-end of a spoon to work down into the seedling dish and waggle it around gently until the seedlings could be carefully lifted out with their roots intact, then using the spoon handle again – this time as a “dibbler” (I’m falling in love with the gardening terms, they really make me laugh) to waggle (not a technical term. In fact, maybe the verb is to “dibble”) a hole in the new compost just big enough and deep enough to fit the seedling and its delicate roots, popping the seedling in and using the spoon (again!) to fill the gaps around the seedling with compost. Gently firmed it down and watered it in. Yay!
Then I spent an anxious couple of days wondering if I had traumatized them and debating whether I should play them music to soothe them. Anecdotal advice on this from friends: apparently you should talk to them, in soothing tones. And subcontracting this out to a dvd of David Attenborough doesn’t count (despite his infinitely more soothing voice and affinity with the natural world)
growing! growing!
Next up comes more thinning out. The tragedy! And repotting. The drama! The suspense! Such good fun.
And, if you’re in central London and have a hankering for zucchini, I have some healthy specimens still looking for a loving adoptive home. They have three leaves now (I’m informed that when I stop naming the leaves individually, that’s when I’ve really got a plant)
Love
P
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