Monday, February 23, 2009

Seed Sowing in 6 Easy Steps

Step 1: buy nifty mini greenhouse kit
Step 2: read detailed instructions
Step 3: pop soil in, press down and lightly moisten with lukewarm water
Step 4: sprinkle seeds on top. These are Petunia seeds so they don't need to be covered, yet.
Step 5: write label and stick it in, don't forget to write down the date
Step 6: pop the lid on and place somewhere warm to germinate (20 - 22 C)
I've put my mini greenhouse in the bathroom. Why? Guess why Delia and her son Merlin are snoozing on the bathroom floor. Underfloor heating, baby! You should know by now that cats always find the best and toastiest spots in the house.
That's one down (took all of 5 minutes) and 9 more to go. The mini greenhouses, complete with seeds and soil, cost me 85 euro cents a piece. Cheap as chips!

I think I have to lie down now, I'm exhausted.

Copyright 2009: Y.E.W. Heuzen

A garden was one of the few things in prison that one could control. To plant a seed, watch it grow, to tend it and harvest it offered a simple but enduring satisfaction. The sense of being custodian to this small patch of earth offered a small taste of freedom.
Nelson Mandela

28 comments:

Cat with a Garden said...

"Underfloor heating, baby!" That made us murmur in awe. It shall be interesting when all 10 mini greenhouses are placed on the bathroom floor. Tee hee..

TYRA Hallsénius Lindhe said...

Hi Yolanda and Tara, you have it all in the country of flowers. It looks so easy and as you say cheap as chips!
Just amazing and Yolanda you don't even get your hands dirty!

xoxo Tyra

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

* Cat with garden: I have a big bathroom and not all 10 need the extra warmth provided by the undefloor heating, only 3 of them so it's doable.

* Tyra: I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the price! So I bought 10, now I *only* have to figure out where to put all the seedlings as there will probably be zillions of them. ;-)

Anonymous said...

I thought you were going to tell us that the cats had used the seed trays as litter boxes! LOL!

Arabella Sock said...

Sorry Yoland-E - Anonymous was me.. I pressed the wrong button!

Tira said...

Very cool, easy cute greenhouse kits. They should make some outdoor version for us here in the tropics.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Yolanda .. what a perfect taste of Spring to have fun planting seeds in this mini green house girl ! and to have watch keepers to make sure it is safe ? those kitties are way smart and know where they are best comforted : )
In floor heating .. when we win the lottery and build a house .. I think our girls will have lots of floors to choose from ? LOL
Every time I come here I have snippets of Holland memory flash in my brain .. especially the wonderful Springs !
Tara looks so cute on that header picture : )

Gail said...

Cats are very smart! Underfloor heating~~sounds wonderful and would be welcome on my bathroom floors! I might have to commandeer the bathtub for seed growing...it's the perfect spot and there are no guests scheduled to visit! Those clever mini green houses would be perfect...wonder if they have a version of them here? Hope your day is beautifully warm! gail

Kerri said...

Ah, I see you're digging in tiny patches of dirt, Yolanda. Good for you! I hope you at least got dirt under your fingernails :)
What a wonderful bargain!
I like the sound of that underfloor heating in the bathroom. Those Bliss kitties are privileged indeed!
Our kitties like to sleep on the hot air registers. It's a snowy, blowy, frigid day here. I hope you're warmer there!
Happy Monday to you!

Terra said...

I am inspired by your talk of the seed kits, and so inexpensive too.
Also, thanks for pointing out only 25 days to spring. Yay!
I already bought and planted 10 Lily of the Valley pips, outside in a large blue ceramic pot, here in California.
Spring Fever, here I come.

Anonymous said...

Wow, great price. Do you mind me asking where you bought them?
Seeds are not that expensive, but the mini-greenhouse are so useful.

Crix said...

Hi Yolanda! Today I also planted Tagetes patula from the same mark and exactly the same way but... cost me 99 euro cents ^_^ Anyway it's a temptation: I had 10 packages in my hand but I brought only one, because I don't have space in the garden to plant them all :(
A big hug

Rusty in Miami said...

Hi Yolanda, for a minute there I thought the cats were part of the process.

Unknown said...

Hope this works for you. I popped over from Dave's. This would cause me to need a rest too, LOL!

Dave said...

What deal on those mini-greenhouses! I could use some underfloor heating about now. Working outside with a cold are two things that don't go well together!

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

Floor heating, oh pout! I mean, what a great feature! And as a former technical writer, I thank you for following step 2!

Chookie said...

And I've just started a series about growing plants from seed on my blog!

Carol Michel said...

Heated floors, those would be nice for germinating seeds. I don't have them in my house, but if I did, yep, I'd have my seeds on the floor, too.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens

Glo said...

In agreement that Tara is an adorable header!! Those eyes! I also thought the cats were keeping the mini-greenhouses warm until I read the rest of the entry! With your green thumb, those seeds will be popping up in no time flat! :)

Robin's Nesting Place said...

Love the header picture! I'm almost ready to start my seeds too. Fun!

Ewa said...

Yolanda, this is so easy.... but what to do then - so many seedlings are coming...
are you observing crop rotation? any practical tips how to manage this easy way?
Greetings,
Ewa

Bob said...

My mum used to have a cat that slept in the oven of the old range they had in the kitchen, thankfully no one ever shut the door on her. Good luck with the seeds. Bob.

gintoino said...

85 cents?! that is soooo cheap. I bought the same exact one (the kolrabi) and it costed me 2 euros!
Looking forward to see how the seedlings will develope.

Kylee Baumle said...

I'm exhausted just watching you. Time for bed!

Connie said...

What a bargain, for such nifty little items. Wishing you seedling success!

em said...

oh, ok, i will start my seeds too. i'll run out and get seed kits today, as i have sooooo many seeds. thanks for the nudge!

Jan said...

Now that's another type of easy seed kit...we don't have that exact one but very similar to mine, isn't it.!

Wow, floor heating! You are lucky to have that. I wish I did:) It sounds like a wonderful starting area for your seeds. I hope they do well. You'll have to show us photos after they grow !!

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Good luck with your seeds. Maybe I need some warm floors to have luck with seeds.

I love the header picture of Tara. She is such a cutie.