garden journal - day 1

GARDEN JOURNAL - DAY 1

in all of the flower farming books i have read, authors recommend keeping a very detailed garden journal. i have never been great at consistently journaling, but the idea of keeping good records of what i am growing appeals to me. i decided to start my garden journal digitally so that i can add images easily. i figure it will be great practice for the variety trial i am planning for this fall too. =)

6.2.15 - weather, sunny and lovely, 70 degrees

8-10 AM - i drove over to the garden space to get the first round of seeds started and the first tubers set out. i am still waiting on several shipments of seeds and tubers, but since i am planning to plant several things in succession, i wanted to get started with the first batch.

anna helped me get the seed flats ready. i am using 72-cell seed starting trays with holes on the bottom placed on top of seed flats that hold water for easy bottom-watering. i have never tried this method for starting seeds, but it is highly recommended for developing strong roots, so i am giving it a go.

we filled the bottom half of each seed compartment with good quality, organic compost so when the little baby roots dig down, there will be a feast waiting for them. topped that layer with a layer of organic garden soil. we then sowed the seeds per packet depth instructions, 1 per compartment for most plants. 2 per compartment for some of the more fragile foliages. topped everything off with a layer of organic seed starting mix. gave everything a light overhead watering with a rain attachment on the hose, and set the seed trays in the flats of water.

i used popsicle sticks as labels this round. they're cheap and easy. you can purchase them at the local craft store in 1000 ct. boxes for less than $5 if you use a coupon.

seeds we planted today:
- 96 sunflowers (8 varieties - )
- 96 zinnias (8 varieties)
- 36 larkspur (3 varieties)
- 48 fillers/foliages (4 varieties)
- 12 nigella

total: 288 plants

while this is not a huge number, i will be sowing more seeds weekly and our plant count will be well into the 'massive range' very soon.

we also set out the first batch of dahlia tubers today. i am still waiting on several shipments of tubers to arrive, but since i am a little late with getting them set out, i wanted to go ahead and get started with the 29 varieties i already have. i am planning to take cuttings from them before placing them in their permanent homes, so for now, i have them laid out in a seed flat to sprout. there is a tiny layer of organic compost, topped with a bit of organic bone meal, topped with a layer of organic garden soil under them. i laid them out on top, labeled them accordingly, and topped with another light layer of organic garden soil. experts seem to disagree about whether or not to water them at this stage, so for this batch, i did not water them.

their eyes are looking healthy and pink and i am excited to see them start to grow! i will post a tutorial in a couple weeks for taking cuttings from them. cuttings can double or triple your plant count really quickly when you're starting out your dahlia collection, so, in my opinion, it's worth trying.