Today was the 'Come Sow with Us' event for the London City Farm Network. A few of us met up in Thorndale at Rath's Greenhouses for a 'sowing' party of sorts. Several trays of different varieties of tomatoes, eggplant, spinach, flowers, etc.. were seeded.
Once these seeds have grown into seedlings (late April-ish) we will be hosting another get-together and learning how to plant these seedlings into pots. The date and time of the event will be determined based on the size and readiness of the seedlings and will be announced accordingly.
Once the seedlings have been potted they will be made available for sale at the Covent Garden Outdoor Farmer's Market in May -- a thorough list of the seedlings on hand will be listed here on the blog.
One of the things that we learned today was how to use a clear plastic salad box to create a mini-greenhouse at home. Here are the instructions that were provided:
- Clean your salad box with dish soap
- Add soil to the bottom of the box to a depth of 1.5"
- Gradually add water to the soil and mix with your hands until you have the consistency of a piece of moist chocolate cake.
- Let sit 3 minutes and pour out any remaining water
- Cut 5 vent holes in the lid using a sharp pointed paring knife and making small X-shaped cuts
- Write on the lid or place a plant marker lying in the box to identify your seeds
- Write on the seed pack the date of your sowing
- Check your seed pack instructions
- If your seeds require light to germinate then you just sprinkle them on the surface of the soil and put the lid on to close
- If a depth is given at which your are supposed to plant your seeds, then sprinkle your seeds and cover them with 1/4-1/2" of dry soil.
- Put the lid on the box
- Place the box outside, either on a porch or balcony against the wall of the house, or inside a basement window-well. Choose either the East/West/South/North facing side of your home (in that order of preference)
- Your seeds will sprout naturally when the soil in the box is the right temperature, which will likely be be before your garden soil has reached that temperature.
- Once your seedlings start sprouting, take off the lid for the day whenever it is over 15C outside and put the lid back on at night, until they are too tall for the lid
- If the soil seems to be drying out just spray the soil with a little warm water from a spray bottle (don't soak nor leave a wet seedling in full sun)
- Once your seedlings are about 2" tall, check your seed pack to see if it is the right time/temperature to plant your seedlings directly into your garden. If it is too early, you will have to pot them up in small pots with potting soil and wait.
A special thank you goes out to the people who came out and helped us sow some seeds! If you're interested in joining us for future events or want more information about the organization please contact Sarah Brooks at sarahabroo@aol.com.
