And so it begins...

After the mess that was my home office last Spring I decided to invest in some proper seed propagation trays this year in order to keep my house looking a little less like a crazy person had taken over.

Quite a difference!

All of the precise little pockets are filled with John Innes seedling compost, and each is just waiting for me to plant a little seed into it tomorrow.

I was also astounded by the resilliance of nature when I stumbled across three wrinkled Hyacinth bulbs, which despite having been lingering at the bottom of a soilless pot for over 12 months in my shed are not only sprouting but boasting flower buds.  Needless to say they have been rescued and tucked in to a pot of compost, watered and given pride of place on my dining room table.  I wonder if they will flourish, or reel back into hibernation from the shock of such lavish attention following their cruel neglect?

Indoor Garden House

I adore Cardens.  If you haven't discovered them yet, they are mailable postcard kits for growing miniature gardens from seeds.  Great for gifts, promotional items and wedding favours.

Their latest design is the most stunning of all.  The laser cut metal and glass structures are just gorgeous and will fit in with any decor.

Must buy a few of these for Christmas methinks!

{Recycling} Earth Day Eco Picks

Happy Earth Day folks!  I just finished a post on my work blog about Easy Eco Tips for the Office, but really most of my Earth Day activites are centred around my gardens.  I'll be shopping for plants this afternoon, but have already made two purchases to help me be a more eco-concious gardner.

I've been looking at these items for a while, and Earth Day seemed to be a good excuse to treat myself. :)

Newspaper Potter.

I actually hardly ever have newspapers in the house, but I do have an abundance of magazines, flyers, envelopes etc that I am hoping I can use.

I have no shortage of pots at the moment, but as I am hoping to sell many of my young plants to raise money for charity this gadget should prove to be a useful tool, and I have a few ideas for marketing ideas too. (I'll keep you posted!)

Rapid Root Trainer

These pots are as much to save my poor wee seedlings from my clumsy and impatient fingers as they are to reduce waste.

Trying to untangle, tease out and replant my delicate seedlings I think I killed most of them. Luckily I had planned for my inexperience resulting in a high mortality rate, so I had banked on numbers saving my garden from a total loss!

I look forward to using these pots to create seedlings that will grow neatly, allow me to check root development, and easily transplant into their final home.

To Prick or Not to Prick

I suspect that I will face this kind of dilemma frequently in the coming months, as I plunge my hands further into the gardening world.  This time, I had to decide whether or not my lavatera seedlings were ready to be pricked out.

The proper answer is probably no; they are small and fragile and not over-congested, but they have started to wilt, and I suspect this is because the egg carton I planted them in is too shallow for their developing root systems.   Keen to spend some time gardening today, as well as experiment, I decided to prick out half of them and leave the other half.

We'll see what happens in a week!