Video Patch

Video Update 3...

I promised you guys a video update of everything so here it is. How everything from the spinach container, to the radishes, to the melons in the greenhouse are doing! And how long they've been doing it! 

Test and Harvest Plant Update

Harvest Plants

The spinach germinating in this container were planted March 19, 2013. They started germinating after 15 days. They were the first thing I planted and were not primed or pre-germinated. That seems to be why they took twice as long to germinate and continue growing at a slow rate. I thinned them into rows on April 8 2013. 

Test Plants

These spinach plants were grown from a seed in a glass bottle on a wet paper towel. Once the fuzzy roots came in, in the bottle I transplanted them into this cup. They took 1/4 of the time to grow to the same height as the control group above. These plants were squashed and poured out to the side (only a little) on April 6th causing the germinating seeds to bore deeper into the soil when replaced upright. I thought that permanent damage had been done because they were transplants and sensitive to begin with but they have continued to grow at a rapid and healthy rate. 

These spinach plants were primed or soaked overnight in tepid water and planted. They took about 7 days to germinate and since have grown taller than both the pre-germination and control groups above. They may be taller than the pre-germ group because they were planted in shallow dish under little soil. These plants were uprooted on April 6th by the wind. The soil cracked and the plants were replanted in there cups a few hours after the fall. I thought that it would cause permanent to deadly damage but they have continued to grow and at a rate that supersedes the control/harvest group.

These radish seeds were primed and planted. They have grown at a rapid rate and are now showing a second set of leaves after 5 days. They are on there 9th day of growth overall. These fell out of there cup on April 6th and were replanted immediately after falling. I thought that they would die from the uprooting but have continued to show growth with the aforementioned leaves. The growth may have come a little slower than it was supposed to because of the fall but the fall was not terminal to the plants. 

The 3 germinating spinach plants are  in the ground in what I have called the "Faerie Garden." The soil was not amended or watered except for when planted. The rain we've received since there sowing on March 19 2013 is the only water they've received. The seeds were not primed, scarified, or pre-germinated. They took an extremely long time to germinate, about 20 days and are smaller than any of the other plants but they did germinate. According to everything I read they should not have been able. The test was successful, I was able to germinate seeds in shaded, rocky, muddy, sandy, and clumpy soil*.

* Even though the test was to find out if I could get the control group seeds to germinate in unknown poor soil with little care and I've gotten the results for that test I'll continue the plants growth to further test the theory of resilience in spinach plants. 

Faerie Plot

Forgotten...

After I planted the container, I forgot that I had planted a few seeds in the ground in the backyard! I felt like it was so very sneaky at the time, maybe because I knew it shouldn't be grown there or didn't have much of a chance, I don't know.

I looked around for a spot that wouldn't be walked on for at least a week or two. Like I said, I knew the seeds didn't have much of a chance but I wanted to experiment. See if you really need loose soil, compost, and a root free ground. So I found a spot under what looks like a peeling tree (not one leaf, yet, so sun shines through) and used the rake type tool to dig into the dirt about half an inch. As I dug I saw worms, roots and felt the resistance. The dirt was muddy because it had rained the day before but I continued. Once I had dug out a tiny 4x4" plot I raked across the plot and put four seeds in each row. I didn't remove any roots, double dig, or add compost. I just added the seeds, covered them with dirt, and lightly patted them with a spade. Since I'd found a random spot to clean out and dig into, in what comes out to be a fairly large backyard, I needed something to mark my test. I went looking around and remembered that I saw an old plastic plant marker from last summer an hour earlier. That didn't work it was covered in muck. I ended up finding a larger plastic marker by the gate to the driveway and cleaned it off. Now all I needed was a marker (an ink one) so I went inside grabbed a Prisma Color purple and wrote "Spinach".

I headed back out, to the left of the peeling tree, to stick the marker in front of my 4x4" plot. A faerie garden was built!

Why did I do that...?

I don't know if they'll even germinate but I do kind of hope they do. It would be nice to know that plants are a lot more resilient then the websites and books make them out to be. I know that even if they do germinate that they won't grow to full side because that ground plot is fairly hard and I just don't think that the roots could push through even after the thaw, if I can't. Mike's dad keeps saying that we should use more of the garden space for things like blueberry bushes and etc. but I just don't know if they'd make it in the yard because I haven't read much about ground gardening. If these spinach seeds just germinate that will give me hope for a blueberry bush and for the seeds that I have planted and am planning to plant in loose, composted, well aerated, nutrient rich soil (thought in a snobby voice). I really am worried that 3 out of my 6 veggies aren't going to grow. So, if the ground plot even germinates one seed it'll boost my confidence in my seed sowing abilities. If they don't I won't take that to mean that my other seeds won't germinate and flourish but I'll be much more wary when I finally plant the carrots & radishes in my raised bed. Also, I'll take what the websites and books say completely to heart. Follow the directions even more meticulously than I have been (which is really really meticulously) and maybe even use some of the off-plot, that was allotted for the carrots (not all of it), for herbs that help my plants grow (as recommended). I'll get fewer carrots that way but some Lemon Balm and... uh Stinging Nettle may be nice too, MAYBE. 

::extra deep sigh::