Alpine Strawberries from Seed (Kit)

Speaking of cute kits, Target has these adorable little strawberry growing kits (as well as flower kits) in their dollar section for Valentine's Day. I've picked these up a couple years in a row, and they're pretty cool... but they're also an example of how a kit could result in frustration for a first-time gardener.

First of all, keep in mind that growing strawberries from seed isn't the easiest task for a beginning gardener. The seeds are minuscule, the seedlings dry out so easily, and they're delicate. It can be done, but you have to check on them daily and handle them carefully. Second, the kit suggests that 10 seedlings would flourish in virtually no space at all! It comes with a teeny tiny pot, a small packet of about 20 Alpine Strawberry seeds, and a pellet of growing medium. But trust me, you don't want to put 10 seeds in that teeny pot! It's not nearly enough room.

Instead:

• Use something like peat pods (or my budget version: toilet paper roll pods) or seedling cells with seed-starter mix.
• Put only one or two strawberry seeds in each pod/cell.
• Water from the BOTTOM by pouring water in the seedlings' tray, because those tiny seeds could wash right away if you water from the top.
• Keep everything consistently moist! These plants are so tiny that they dry out FAST when mere seedlings.
• Later, you can harden them off and put the plants in hanging baskets or a strawberry planter... or maybe along the edges of your flower bed, as they are quite lovely little plants.
  

But let's not waste that gowing medium pellet and teeny pot. If you want, you can use them as directed but sow only one or two seeds in the little pot. Just don't over-water, because the pot has no drainage hole. You can also use the pot as a cute container to give away one of the seedlings when they're almost grown. I did this as a gift to a gardening friend of mine, a couple years ago. (In this case, you can hydrate the growing medium pellet and mix it into the rest of your seed-starting mix for another seedling project.)

Alpine strawberries are a small, everbearing variety. That means that, instead of one large harvest at once, it'll give you several small harvests. It's one of the easier varieties to grow from seed, and it's less likely to take over your garden if you put them in the ground. They're about as close to a "wild strawberry" as you'll get in a domesticated plant. They're fairly similar to Alexandria strawberries.

Cute Kits

I'm such a sucker for cute kits and convenience. If I were planning an in-ground garden this year, I totally would have snatched up one of these baskets at Lowe's the other day:
I mean, how perfect would this be for a small in-ground garden? And it comes in an adorable basket that's perfect for small harvests!

Could you get all of the contents cheaper? Yes, probably. Especially if you make a deal with other backyard gardeners and split that bundle of onions or bag of seed potatoes. But for the convenience, $10 isn't so bad. In fact, I think this could be the way to go if you're a new gardener or are growing these plants for the first time.

A Portable Garden

Because we might be buying a new house in the next few months (yikes!), this year's gardening plans focus on the portable. Everything I'm choosing must either be able to survive in a pot (like not-too-big determinate tomato plants), or it must be something that could be harvested early (like lettuce).

It feels good to simplify. This is why I love container gardening in the first place! There are ants all over the basket of strawberries? Well, brush them off and move the strawberries to the front porch! There's an unexpected spring freeze on its way? Just move everything inside to the utilities room! We're moving? No big deal! Put those pots of Red Robin Tomatoes in the back of the car and let's go!

With this in mind, I just ordered most of my (very few) "new" seeds for this season:

• Tumbling Tom Tomatoes (one packet of red and one packet of yellow)
• Fabulous Hybrid Tomato
• Little Gem Lettuce

The Tumbling Toms are perfect for hanging baskets, and I have a pot large enough for a determinate like the Fabulous Hybrid. Lettuce is no problem at all, as it can be harvested and enjoyed even when it's still very small.

I will still most likely buy some parsley seeds, and maybe spinach. Everything else will come from my existing stash or from seed-swaps.

I feel good about this upcoming season, and I'm so happy next month is February! We'll soon be starting winter vegetables!!!

Listening to the sleet and ice at the windows, my thoughts are already turning to Spring.

Last gardening season was a dud... and it was mostly my fault. My garden tends to reflect what's going on in my life, and things weren't so great emotionally. When I start neglecting myself because of depression or stress, I also start neglecting my plants.

Life is better now, partly because I realized I couldn't pull myself out of depression alone, and partly because I'm taking initiative to change the parts of my life that make me unhappy. As I brim with anticipation there, I find myself brimming with anticipation over next year's garden.

I will keep things simple this year. Last year's plans were complex and varied, which I believe overwhelmed me, so I will stick to the reliable basics this year. I'll allow myself a small section of the garden for experimental plants, but I will do my best to direct most of my emotional investment elsewhere.

I also think I'll invest in a little extra lighting for my seedlings. Tomatoes do just fine if they're a bit leggy, but broccoli, not so much. I'm fortunate enough to have a sunny southern room, so I think a couple lamps rigged up with grow bulbs will be sufficient.

I'll also make my life easier by setting up the drip irrigation system we purchased last year. How silly is it to let something like that got to waste?!

I'll also invest in some of those watering bulbs for when we take weekend trips. The garden itself does OK if it misses a watering, but the container plants are another story.

Time to sort through my existing seeds and do a couple germination tests.

Throw Your Voice tomorrow!

I know I've been on hiatus this season, but I wanted to let my fellow Oklahoma bloggers know about Throw Your Voice TOMORROW, October 3rd. It's a blogging and podcasting conference in Oklahoma City. Check it out!

Gardening with Children; a Guest Post

This is a special post for Urban Garden Hoe: a guest post on gardening with children from a good friend of mine, Sara. Sara is fairly new to gardening and had a fair number of questions this Spring, but she has really taken to square foot gardening... and she does it with far more style than I!

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It’s never too early to learn to garden. And lucky for me, it’s never too late, either.

Because I’m a creative person who has a short attention span and doesn’t always fully research things before jumping in, my previous attempts at vegetable gardening were massive failures. For example, throwing broccoli seeds into red dirt in June in full sun was not the best plan, even though the seed packet recommended full sun. Oh, and I kind of forgot to water them.

Then there was the time I tried to accidentally poison myself, thinking I was eating little black tomatoes which were really something like nightshade berries. I could have sworn I had planted some cherry tomatoes in that spot!

After those embarrassments, I swore off gardening and admitted defeat. My other interests would keep me plenty busy, not to mention raising a toddler and keeping him entertained.

But this DIY craze runs deep and wide, and growing your own is worth reconsidering.

This year’s garden was a spur-of-the-moment decision, inspired by a simple Tweet from Elizabeth: something along the lines of “getting ready to plant another Square Foot Garden.” I was intrigued – it sounded simple yet fun.

A quick perusal of http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ had me thinking in grids and making lists of vegetables we love. I bought the book at Full Circle (our local bookstore) and built my own garden box with lumber and a drill, which made me feel empowered and self-sufficient. I also built a small 2’x2’ for my son, who was very interested in digging, as a way to keep him out of trouble and to share the excitement.

We started seeds indoors, and every morning he’d wake up and want to look at the baby plants. He began to understand they were delicate and growing, and learned to be careful when touching them.



Little did I know how educational this project would prove. My son has started learning about broad concepts such as patience, sustainability and farming while trying new things and spending time in the backyard.



He’s getting dirty and watching bugs crawl and working up the courage to hold worms in his hand. He’s learning about compost, about being gentle to plants and waiting for produce to ripen. He’s learning to snack on sugar snap peas and beet greens right there in the garden. This experience is one we can share and enjoy, and we are rewarded for the work we do.



Fun plants to grow with kids:

• Sugar snap peas – sweet and ready to eat
• Mint – great for putting in ice water
• Onions - the tops are irresistible to my young farmer straight out of the garden
• Beets - even if you don’t like them, they make great natural food coloring, and the greens cook up just like spinach.
• Cherry tomatoes - fast-growing, snackable and yummy

Gazette

Check out this small article about my garden and blog in the (Oklahoma City) Gazette!

This means I need to start updating more frequently again. :) I'll sit down and do a full post tonight!