So, I haven't forgotten about the blog. Life has been kind of crazy. I have had some down time but in that, sometimes you just feel blah or are trying to figure things out. So, it hasn't necessarily been a very productive time frame.
However, I am here to tell you that I have been working on some new projects and am rethinking old ones to try to spur them on. I haven't worked on the website lately, either, but have plans to do so very soon. I know that isn't a big issue maybe for you, since I have yet to unveil it, but you should like it. It will go above and beyond the things I do here. I think that God should be first here. Having said that, I will occasionally post other things like life hacks and crafts, etc. They just won't be the main focus. The website would be the place to get my input on all of that. ;)
I am also working on something else very exciting. Well, I'm excited anyway! lol I have finally been able to say, "Let's get this gar-den started, right...Let's get this gar-den started qui-ckly." If you are a 90's child, you are probably hearing a song right about now. If not, maybe I just can't type a tune in a bucket. lol
Yes. Plants. I love gardens. It is a micro garden so far with not many varieties but I have one growing!! Whee!! I started with Zinnias because I heard they are super fast to germinate. My son is doing a science project and I find it very cool. I already was going to start my little seedlings but this gave me a great reason to jump into the process faster. :D He has 3 identical pots with Zinnias but different soils.
Currently, I have Zinnia sprouts (VERY high germination rate!), a few African Daisies (not sure if the seeds didn't like me or the conditions but I do have a few sprouts), Cottage Wildflowers, Snapdragons (they are so TINY for seeds!!). I am going to be planting the Forget Me Nots and Cleomes tomorrow. I have started germinating them with the paper towel method. I love doing them that way! Before when I tried in just dirt, I was frustrated because they took a bit of time and I was impatient. I didn't see any progress. I also had them in direct sun and shallow starts. They probably dried out and/ or didn't have enough room to start rooting. This way changes the game completely. I can see the sprouts full well and can let them get a head start before planting. I don't waste time planting bum seeds either. I was disappointed in the African Daisies. They are beautiful but most didn't germ for me. I am also using an idea that ties into my son's science project.
He is doing a soil study with diaper gel crystals mixed into the dirt to see if the soil holds water any better or in any way helps the plants. He had to have 3 soils. His first was normal soil and the third is sponge soil. Hmm. I had to think about that for a moment. Interesting concept. I thought that the sponge would be similar to the diaper but too bulky and would somehow not work. He thought the sponges inside would take all the water for themselves and the plants wouldn't get any water. On the contrary, his results are showing favorably for both the diaper and sponge soils. The normal soil is growing but not as quickly. The plastic wrap (greenhouse effect) has been taken off of the altered soil but the normal soil has not yet reached the plastic yet.
I had already heard about the diaper soil before when I was attempting to start my plants. I was pretty sure it would work. I am using the diaper soil on my plants as a trial as well. To get them to start more quickly, as his assignment is timed and my excitement couldn't wait either, we also used the Jobes fertilizer spikes from Dollar Tree. All 3 pots had them. Equal footing. Per a suggestion by a trusted friend, I broke them into 4 so it wasn't a waste or too shocking for the plants. I put them in mine also. Well, in the Zinnias and Daisies. I think I may have overlooked that step on the Wildflowers and Snapdragons. I will check tomorrow when I pot up the other seeds.
The Snapdragon seeds were so dadgum tiny, like the tip of a ball point pen (or smaller!) that I got lazy putting them in the dirt. This was partly because I put so many onto the paper towel to germ and partly because the size was making it difficult to separate them without damaging. It was a very fine process. So, having heard about the layers that are pre-planted and you just put under the soil, that is what I did with the other Snapdragon seeds. So, half the planter is hand planted and half are done like a planting mat. :p We shall see how that works! On one of the paper towel videos I watched on YouTube, Lark mentions that if the seedling starts to grow into the paper towel, you can just tear that piece of towel off and plant it too. That way you don't damage the seedling. I have only had to do that with a few of the other seeds.
That's about all for now. I will try to post again tomorrow or the next day. For the meantime, I will post the video I was talking about, just in case anyone is interested. I will post about the diaper soil as well. :)
P.S. Here is the link for my gardening blog, Revelations In Dirt It's one of the new things I have been working on.
However, I am here to tell you that I have been working on some new projects and am rethinking old ones to try to spur them on. I haven't worked on the website lately, either, but have plans to do so very soon. I know that isn't a big issue maybe for you, since I have yet to unveil it, but you should like it. It will go above and beyond the things I do here. I think that God should be first here. Having said that, I will occasionally post other things like life hacks and crafts, etc. They just won't be the main focus. The website would be the place to get my input on all of that. ;)
I am also working on something else very exciting. Well, I'm excited anyway! lol I have finally been able to say, "Let's get this gar-den started, right...Let's get this gar-den started qui-ckly." If you are a 90's child, you are probably hearing a song right about now. If not, maybe I just can't type a tune in a bucket. lol
Yes. Plants. I love gardens. It is a micro garden so far with not many varieties but I have one growing!! Whee!! I started with Zinnias because I heard they are super fast to germinate. My son is doing a science project and I find it very cool. I already was going to start my little seedlings but this gave me a great reason to jump into the process faster. :D He has 3 identical pots with Zinnias but different soils.
Currently, I have Zinnia sprouts (VERY high germination rate!), a few African Daisies (not sure if the seeds didn't like me or the conditions but I do have a few sprouts), Cottage Wildflowers, Snapdragons (they are so TINY for seeds!!). I am going to be planting the Forget Me Nots and Cleomes tomorrow. I have started germinating them with the paper towel method. I love doing them that way! Before when I tried in just dirt, I was frustrated because they took a bit of time and I was impatient. I didn't see any progress. I also had them in direct sun and shallow starts. They probably dried out and/ or didn't have enough room to start rooting. This way changes the game completely. I can see the sprouts full well and can let them get a head start before planting. I don't waste time planting bum seeds either. I was disappointed in the African Daisies. They are beautiful but most didn't germ for me. I am also using an idea that ties into my son's science project.
He is doing a soil study with diaper gel crystals mixed into the dirt to see if the soil holds water any better or in any way helps the plants. He had to have 3 soils. His first was normal soil and the third is sponge soil. Hmm. I had to think about that for a moment. Interesting concept. I thought that the sponge would be similar to the diaper but too bulky and would somehow not work. He thought the sponges inside would take all the water for themselves and the plants wouldn't get any water. On the contrary, his results are showing favorably for both the diaper and sponge soils. The normal soil is growing but not as quickly. The plastic wrap (greenhouse effect) has been taken off of the altered soil but the normal soil has not yet reached the plastic yet.
I had already heard about the diaper soil before when I was attempting to start my plants. I was pretty sure it would work. I am using the diaper soil on my plants as a trial as well. To get them to start more quickly, as his assignment is timed and my excitement couldn't wait either, we also used the Jobes fertilizer spikes from Dollar Tree. All 3 pots had them. Equal footing. Per a suggestion by a trusted friend, I broke them into 4 so it wasn't a waste or too shocking for the plants. I put them in mine also. Well, in the Zinnias and Daisies. I think I may have overlooked that step on the Wildflowers and Snapdragons. I will check tomorrow when I pot up the other seeds.
The Snapdragon seeds were so dadgum tiny, like the tip of a ball point pen (or smaller!) that I got lazy putting them in the dirt. This was partly because I put so many onto the paper towel to germ and partly because the size was making it difficult to separate them without damaging. It was a very fine process. So, having heard about the layers that are pre-planted and you just put under the soil, that is what I did with the other Snapdragon seeds. So, half the planter is hand planted and half are done like a planting mat. :p We shall see how that works! On one of the paper towel videos I watched on YouTube, Lark mentions that if the seedling starts to grow into the paper towel, you can just tear that piece of towel off and plant it too. That way you don't damage the seedling. I have only had to do that with a few of the other seeds.
That's about all for now. I will try to post again tomorrow or the next day. For the meantime, I will post the video I was talking about, just in case anyone is interested. I will post about the diaper soil as well. :)
P.S. Here is the link for my gardening blog, Revelations In Dirt It's one of the new things I have been working on.
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