Eragrostis elliottii: all you need is love

I decided that my first post should be about the first seeds that I planted this year.  Eragrostis elliotti, commonly known as Love Grass, has been keeping me sane since January 1.  Those folks who say things, in the "they say" realm of the world claim that what you do on the first day of the year will define your year.  I ordered seeds early and sowed them with purpose. 

I shouldn't give myself too much credit for purposeful planting in that I didn't exactly have everything that I needed.  According to some websites, in fact, I hadn't even collected the most basic ingredient:  soilless starting mix.  I didn't have a grow light; I didn't have heating mats; I didn't even have room under my refrigerator for trays.  I did have several peat trays leftover from this past spring, which I soaked for several hours.  And I can honestly say this technique is an improvement over my previous seed starting method.

The following is my former method; I do not recommend it:  dump dry potting soil into peat pots, drop seeds on it, dump more potting soil on top, dump a lot of water in there, hope the seeds don't get washed out, wonder how-in-the-world people get seeds to start like this, talk to Dad, realize that most people don't get seeds to start like this, pray that some of the seeds are still in the peat pot. 

Anyway, I've learned at least four things:  moisten the soil in the pot first, make sure it's all drained out, then press the seeds into it, and don't dump water on it.  With my new and improved method, the soil became moist, and I sowed my seeds.  Then, I sat them in front of a window.  I placed the cells in a plastic tray, watered them from the bottom, and to my surprise they germinated. 

Now, I have tiny, two inch blades of Blue Love Grass.  And on days when the entire world outside of my window looks like an Andrew Wyeth painting, those blades of grass glow, reminding me that, really, all you need is love.