Saturday, February 12, 2011

With One Shop Light



But me & Cinderella
We put it all together
We can drive it home
With one headlight
-- One Headlight, The Wallflowers

I've been wanting to start more seeds for a couple of weeks now, but the top row of my grow rack was full, and I only have one light, a shoplight, which is very strategically placed.  My Park Seeds order came in on Friday, and with it came an idea, one that I should have thought of a long time ago.  Seedlings need twelve to sixteen hours of light, not twenty-four.  I would like to say that I  had an "a-ha" moment, but it was more like "oh, duh."  I can rotate two rows.  I can give each row twelve hours of sunlight simply by rotating one set to the light and one away every twelve hours!

With that in mind, I started making my toilet paper roll seed starting pots last night.  This morning I woke up, moved my seedlings to the kitchen table (near two big windows), filled the pots, opened my

Asclepias incarnata 'Cinderella,'  which has been described as a hassle free, native perennial that attracts butterflies and smells like vanilla -- who can resist that?  Another bonus is the fact that the seeds are big, making them super easy to see.  (When I started my Irish moss seeds of few weeks ago, I wasn't even sure they made it into their little tp pots.)  Now my little Cinderellas are warming under the shop light! 

For some fun ideas on how to start seeds, head over to Dave's Seed Sowing Saturday!  http://www.growingthehomegarden.com/

4 comments:

  1. Love the TP pots! I'm going to borrow that idea for sure. It's great to see what everyone is sowing. It makes the wait for spring much more bearable!

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  2. I know; January was the longest month! I think I read every internet gardening blog that exists -- and was SO grateful that they do!

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  3. Brilliant! I need two more shop lights; but hubs is being a tight wad. I like your idea; hmmm ...

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  4. Tervy, I understand. We're remodeling our house, so if I can accomplish something with my plants for free, that's the way to go!

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