Succession Planting Herbs

May 29, 2019gardenbasil, cilantro, flat leaf italian parsley, garden with kids, herb garden, herbs, home gardening, lime basil, seeds, succession planting, thai basilarthurized 3 Comments

Succession planting is simply sowing seeds at intervals so that you have a constant supply of produce. In years past, I’ve made halfhearted attempts at succession planting our gardens. I’ve never made a planting schedule and stuck to it. This year I’m sowing seeds at two week intervals, so that we can enjoy our favorite herbs throughout the growing season.

Purple Basil. But you could’ve guessed that!

I’ve planted cilantro, flat leaf Italian parsley and three varieties of basil; lime, purple and Thai. These are all familiar plants except the lime and Thai basil. I try to plant about a dozen seeds each time, because we tend to pick small batches.

My method isn’t very organized but it seems to be working. Every two weeks I wander out to the garden, seeds in hand, and find a little patch of soil near the previous plantings. I pull the mulch back with a hand rake and loosen up the surface of the amended soil underneath. After carefully placing the seeds over the loosened soil, I sprinkle bagged garden soil over them to the recommended planting depth. Basil takes 1/8″ of soil and the parsley and cilantro require 1/4″ of soil covering.

Once I’ve pressed the new soil down lightly; I water the planting area, taking care not to wash the seeds away. Unless we get a nice, overnight rain shower, I water every morning. If the weather is unseasonably hot or dry, my planting beds get a second drink of water in the early afternoon. After the seedlings sprout and the plants are established, I water according to the directions on the seed packet.

Just look at those babies in circle two!

I hope you will give this project a try. If you do, I’d love to hear from you! Comment here or email me at arthurized dot home at gmail dot com.

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Seed Starting Pots – A Recycling Project

March 27, 2019plantsarthurized home, colorful cottage living, garden with kids, plants, recycle, repurpose, seed savers exchange, seed starting, seedsarthurized 2 Comments

Do you know that you’ve got an endless supply of seed starting pots in your home? Well, they’re not pots yet. They’re more commonly known as empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls! (I’m trying to refrain from potty puns.)

If you’re using paper towel rolls, cut them in half or thirds.
(Do you think my background looks like tiny rolls of toilet paper?)

Open up the tube and pinch the first folds together and press flat again to form a square.
Measure across the top; mine is just over one inch.

Use half of that measurement to mark the fold lines. My fold line is 1/2″ from the bottom.

Using sturdy scissors, cut along each of the 4 corners up to the fold line. You don’t have to mark the flaps A, B, C & D. I’ve done that to better explain this step. I hope!

Now fold each flap toward the center of the pot. Starting from the top (A),
work clockwise (B, C). When you reach the flap on the left (D), tuck the top half of it
under the first flap (A). That will secure the bottom of the pot.

You want the pot to close tightly at the bottom so the soil is contained.
If yours has a gap, re-fold the flap a little higher until the gap is closed.

Now you have a little seed starting pot!
But he needs some friends.

Fill with potting soil and plant those seeds!

When your seedlings are ready to transplant into a larger pot or the garden, open the flaps and plant it whole. Or, carefully cut the side of the pot open from top to bottom without disturbing the roots. The pot will decompose over time. Happy gardening!

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