My Anarchist Garden-Kale and Leek Seed Starting
Week 1
I plant kale in the early spring and then in the late summer. Because of our relatively mild winters here in the Southeast, this summer crop is ready for harvest when I plant the spring garden. The bedraggled plant above is from last year.
You can place kale seeds directly into the soil (direct sowing) but I find that it competes poorly in the spring with weeds, with the result that you waste a lot of seeds. I prefer to plant small seedlings and then heavily mulch around the seedlings to suppress weeds. In previous years, I used a seed starting flat, where you put a single seed into a half inch plug of soil and then repot it into a bigger container. I still plan on doing this for tomato seeds but to save time, I planted directly today into the large containers for the kale this year.
I don't buy pots, either plastic or peat, which are expensive and, for the peat ones, dry out too quickly when I try to harden the plant off in the sun. I make my own pots by reusing food containers We eat a lot of yogurt but you can use really any plastic container. Just make sure to wash it and then lightly bleach it.
I rinse them well and then punch holes in the bottom to allow adequate drainage. I used a cordless drill but you can use a screwdriver or pair of scissors.
I then fill them up with organic potting mix. There is seed starting mix you can buy but it is more expensive. I haven't had any difficulty using just potting mix but if you have had different results please let me know. This year, I added a few scoops of peat moss to the potting mix since I had some left over from planting our blueberry bushes last year.
I then put about 4 seeds per pot. When these get bigger, I will pluck all but one out. I watered them initially and then went back and watered again. I did the same thing for four leak plants (on the right). I have never grown leeks so please chime if you have any experience you can share. I am keeping these inside right now near a window because it is warmer but I will move these pots out to the garage under lights when the seeds sprout.
Peace, Love, and Freedom
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It doesn't work with all types of containers but if you keep the lids you can put them on the bottom to hold excess water to keep the soil moist. Even glue them on if not too lazy. Used to do it for all the jars I used to start plants or place several in a bigger lid.
Great idea! The card table is actually my mom's so I want to take care of it. When I move them outside, I will do this.
Your kale is looking pretty good! You've sure got the right idea about using free materials for starting plants! I like growing leeks - they do well here in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Just like onions, it's OK to put 10 or more seeds in each container or cell of a planting 6-pack - or even a lot of seeds in a larger container. Then just divide them apart when you plant them.
Also -- if you can add a statement that the photos are yours, that would be really helpful for future posts. If you do use other photos, please provide their source, too. Thanks.
Thanks for taking the time to help improve my post. Yes the photos are mine and will note this in the future.
To clarify, like onions, I can plant that many per container and then pluck/scoop the pencil thin leak out and then plant? I was planning on thinning to one plant per container, which would have been a waste.
One onion or leek per container is a waste of space, for sure. You can sow your onions more thickly - and you don't need to repot them at all. When the plants are a few inches high, then you can plant them directly from that container. You will just have to carefully separate each one from the clump. It's pretty easy to do.
With leeks, you will just plant them in a trench, and then slowly fill that trench in with soil or old leaves as the plants get larger. The key with onions or leeks is to keep them weeded. They do not like competition, especially with grass!
Hope that helps. Happy leek gardening! Looking forward to seeing your results here on Steemit! : )
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