Seeds or Seedlings?

Before jumping right into the results of last year’s straw-bale garden, it might be better to start at the beginning. My research into the subject led me to believe that the easiest and most efficient way to start the garden would be by transplanting seedlings. The general consensus went something like this:

1. Condition the bales.
2. Make rough holes and drop in seedlings.
3. ????
4. Profit.

There wasn’t a lot of internet video showing step 3 (which, it turns out, is 90% watering and waiting and 10% learning the hard way what not to do), but there was plenty enough footage of steps 1, 2, and 4 so I jumped in with enthusiastically with both feet. I figured there were two obvious routes to obtaining seedlings: buy them from a nursery or grow them myself from seed. I decided (initially at least) to go with door number 2 for several reasons, chief among them:

• This was designed to be a project to do with my son, Lucas, and growing from seed just seemed like much more of a learning experience.
• I wanted to grow things that were out-of-the-norm and my limited experience with store-bought seedlings was that they were very ordinary plants.
• I thought it might be cheaper (turns out: not so much really).
• It was the middle of winter, I was all enthusiastic, and no stores would be selling seedlings for at least another 2+ months.

So I took the plunge and ordered 2 seed catalogs: Burpee (the Wal-Mart of seed retailers) and Abundant Life Seeds (ALS, Organic this, heirloom that, etc.). Within a couple of weeks both showed up in my mailbox and I set to work deciding what to order. Lucas tried to keep his attention on the project at hand, but being only 4 he was not really too involved. Comparing the two catalogs was like night vs. day; Burpee was all glossy with pictures of literally everything, having no shame in touting their amazing hybrids while ALS emphasized their love for everything natural and sustainable right down to the recycled paper it was printed on. Both had similar prices, with ALS being perhaps slightly lower. I didn’t want to order from both (twice the shipping cost), so in the end I decided to give the little guys a chance and went with Abundant Life Seeds.

I ordered lots of stuff: tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, mini cucumbers, Japanese eggplant, wax beans, salad greens, lettuce, pumpkin squash, summer squash, other squash, and others I can’t recall just now. It really added up in price, but all told I have spent more in one trip to the farmers’ market. The seeds arrived in the mail a couple of weeks later, about mid-February, and off I went to Home Depot to get a seed starting kit. The kit consisted of a thin plastic tray with many depressions in it, a bundle of what looked like little hockey pucks, and a lid to keep in heat and moisture.

I wasted no time in getting my seeds going. First I spread the pucks around the tray in the ready-made depressions, and then soaked them with water as per the directions. Each puck eventually grew into a sodden wad of peat, wrapped in a thin mesh with a spot on top to put the seeds. They really worked as advertised too, just put the seed(s) on top of each wad, cover, and place in front of a south-facing window. Within days sprouts were appearing everywhere. Then I realize my first big problem:

I don’t know which are which.

In my enthusiastic push to get started I had neglected to mark what seeds went where. Some were easy (the beans still had a great big bean shell to identify them). Telling which squash was what was an exercise in futility however, a problem that would magnify itself later. At the time though I was elated. Things were growing under my watch. Thriving even! And in recognition of Abundant Life Seeds – at least 95% (est.) of their product sprouted, a pretty good rate by any standard.

Things continued swimmingly for a while. That is until my second big problem emerged…