Learning to be Patient
Celosia flower seedlings from Floret Farms
Patience has never been my strong suit. Granted having children helped but given our society is hard wired for immediate results I’ve always struggled to be a patient person. That said…. Trying to grow a market garden from seeds, has proven to be a real lesson in patience!
I knew a little bit about gardening from my urban garden in Denver. That was, however a very small scale and the few things I started from seeds, primarily tomatoes and cucumbers I did in a single tray on the windowsill in the living room of our house. I also grew Zinnias and Holly Hocks from seed directly sowing them into my raised beds. Looking back, both these endeavors were in a very controlled environment.
Trying to grow vegetables and flowers from seeds on a larger scale in a very uncontrolled environment is proving to be a completely different ball game! My first attempt at growing tomatoes and cucumbers as well as sweet peas and asparagus from seeds in Palisade using our fruit shed as a greenhouse started off well but then went south really fast.
On my first attempt I lost the sweet peas and cucumbers and most of the asparagus due to a communication error with my fellow farmer (Andy). I was able to keep the tomatoes and his peppers going for a while. When Andy and I finished building the hoop house we moved our seedlings to that location. We thought that because we could monitor the temperatures in the Hoop House using a smart thermometer and an App on Andy’s iPhone that our seedlings would do okay. I was so confident that I planted additional flower seedlings, including Forget-me-nots, Bells of Ireland, Amaranth and Mignonette to name just a few. I love cut flowers after all.
Then we had an unexpected cold snap and the temperature in the green house got a little too close to freezing. We had all the newly panted seeds in seed trays on the floor of the hoop house and the more established tomatoes and peppers on a table.
Yet another mistake... I’ve since learned that the table captures the cold underneath it and in so doing makes the table cold as well. Andy and I went out to check the plants in the green house by looking through the door (we didn’t want to open it for fear of letting in cold air). Imagine our surprise when we looked in and both the tomatoes and peppers were still perky green and standing up right! I was so excited; our babies were still hanging on! I went off to class and Andy to his home office.
Then I got the call… it appears that the seedlings were upright because they were frozen! Once the green house warmed up… they were dead as a door nail! That said, it should be noted that the seedlings that were on the floor survived!
Crushed and disheartened, I decided to start over yet again…. Unfortunately, this second time neither the tomatoes nor the peppers came to fruition. Andy was smart and didn’t plant all his seeds, I on the other hand, was out of seeds! Being the stubborn person that I am… I ordered more and after discussing it with a fellow gardener, decided to give it another go, third times a charm after all… right?
This time, I slowed down, each seed had its own container, and used the correct starter soil. We also brought the seedlings into the house, set up a table, installed our heating mats and put the seeds in front of the window. We figured this method worked for us in Denver, perhaps it would work for us here.
After several long weeks, they began to sprout! While this was going on, the multitude of flower seeds I sowed, were finally starting to come up. For some, I thought the game was over, but then I saw tiny little sprout coming up! It felt like a miracle.
Each day Andy and I learn something new, and with this knowledge we are formulating a game plan for this fall on what we need to do to be better prepared for next year’s growing season. The fact that we will have all the irrigation and hardscape in place for the vegetable garden means that we can just focus on planting seeds and growing our seedlings. We are formulating a game plan for the fruit shed so that it is properly set up with waterproof flooring, ample shelves for seed trays, with each shelf having its own grow light and heating mat. We will order both the seed trays and starter soil in bulk. We are also taking note of how many plants or seeds we can plant in each section. This will give us a better idea of how many seeds we need to order and which varieties we want to plant. This will help us be more focused and methodical in our purchasing, always a good thing when it comes to finances and starting a business. Looking back even now, I see how truly naïve Andy and I were starting out. We made a list of all the things we wanted to grow and then bought a seed packet of each not paying attention to the quantity that came in each seed packet! I have so much to learn, some days it is seriously over whelming, but on the flip side there is something about learning something new that is incredibly appealing to me. Growing a garden from seeds is truly a humbling experience. Seedlings grow at their own pace and to be a gardener, you need to be patient. It is a virtue I am certain I can achieve… over time!
