All posts filed under: starting seeds

Ultimate Guide for How to Acclimate Your Seedlings to the Outdoors

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jjjj Why is it important for seedlings to be exposed to the outdoors? The air movement and light is important for development of strong stems, promoting leaf growth, and healthy root growth Also important for preventing root rot, disease, and mold If weather does not allow for setting your seedlings outside, you can also set them in a sunny window with a circulating fan set on low about 5 feet away from the trays. Remember to rotate the trays so your seedlings will not grow crookedly as they reach for sunlight. Why is it important to move seedlings outside gradually? Young seedlings that have been started indoors, are very sensitive to extremes in light, temperature, moisture, and wind. Too much shock early on can cause your seedlings to be stressed, which makes them more prone to diseases, and vulnerable to insects, all of which can cause stunting, rot, or death. Introducing seedlings for limited amounts of time to the outdoors during gentle conditions will prepare them for the tougher days ahead, without killing them before …

Scarlet Runner Beans and Cardinal Climber Vines, Unique Flowers and Beautiful Shades of Bright Red

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My husband, Tim, also a horticulturist, has always been fascinated with the Cardinal Climber Vine, the pentagonal shaped flower with an embossed star shape of sorts shown sitting in the palm of my hand in the photo on the above left. I have always been intrigued by the beautiful red Scarlet Runner Bean, above right. This year, Tim, who is so awesome at remembering to plant seeds, got them planted by our front porch step this spring! Now that I have seen these plants in action, I love them even more! Each flower shape is so unique and intricately detailed! I cannot fathom how such small flowers, each smaller than a quarter, can house such fascinating floral architecture! They are truly miraculous specimens to behold! Especially, if you stop for a moment, to examine them up close, and even dissect them. I hope to one day, get my hands on a macro lens, so that I can capture the intricate details of flowers. Until then, you’ll just have to plant some yourself, or take my …

Work

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As I enjoy these last few weeks in my garden, I am reminded of this poem I wrote in 2013. Much has changed in my life since then, but the way I enjoy my flowers the most at this stage in the season, remains unchanged. Hope you enjoy the little floral photo shoot I did this morning instead of organizing my house after a few busy weeks here at casa de Stephens!  How can one not ignore chores when there is such beauty to behold right at her fingertips? I was so excited to see my 4’Oclocks, blooming!  They are the Morning Glory shaped flowers that are blue with the yellow and white throat pictured below. I started them late, like, in June or later, from seed, and they had a rough beginning, and were almost devoured by caterpillars, suffered drought, extreme heat, and neglect while we were on vacation, but they persevered!  So excited to see these colors together!

The Basil 🌿 has Sprouted!

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WE DID IT!  WE HAVE ACHIEVED SPROUTYNESS!!!! Now What????? If you have made it this far, you might be wondering what to do next to keep your basil babies alive.  Here’s a short list of things to do to keep them going. Remove your seedlings from the top of the fridge once they begin to sprout Reduce the number of times you spritz your seedlings to once a day, and gradually taper down to every other day, and then just start watering them with a watering can as the soil starts to dry on the surface. Why?Seeds need to be kept moist constantly until they sprout, then you want to gradually reduce the amount of water you give them to avoid causing them to rot or suffocate. This could be another separate article! Take the set up to a warm, sunny room, away from heat vents(at least 5 feet away) I have mine sitting on the top shelf of a bakers rack that sits in my sunny foyer. Begin removing the clear lid from the …

Seed Starting Basics

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We Planted Our Basil! We Did It! Finally, after talking about it, we made some time to plant a few basil seeds.  It’s so easy to put it off, and then 3 weeks have passed by and still no seeds planted!  I try not to stress too much about it, because I know I can always buy a plant at the garden center if I get behind.  The point of all of this is to have fun and learn something anyway right? The Case of the Missing Basil Seed So I was all ready to get started.  I went to the basement, found the wooden box that we keep all of our seed packets in.  I began digging, and digging…..and digging some more. I am now the proverbial squirrel in search of the nut! No luck.  No basil seed to be found!  “I could have sworn I still had some of that basil seed!”  I did find about 3 packages of Arugula seed, and a bazillion packages of Zinnias and other garden flowers, tomato, pepper, …