Gardening update! - And what I've observed about biodegradable seed starting containers

So yes, my friends, indeed, the seeds I gave a chance to (those seeds that expired in 2012), were really, undeniably, expired. Dead and gone.

So I will be sowing new seeds instead! I always like to sow two of the vegetable seeds, and then later sow at least one more seed in case something unfortunate happens to the seedlings, then I have a backup. (And in my case, something unfortunate always happens. Not this year, though! I am determined to rid my plants of bugs, with an organic repellent.)
I have a packet of Phlox seeds, which I've never had before, and a packet of purple eggplants, which I've also never had before (this seems to be the year of trying new things!).
I will be sowing those, if it's sunny tomorrow, because we've been having a rain spell here in my town.

Updating you on the plants that have already germinating and are in a nice seedling stage:

The two squash plants are good on their way, and both have already developed their first true leaf.
The two forget-me-not (cynoglossum) seedlings have also developed one true leaf.
I also have two tiny chive seedlings, but they don't seem to be doing too well and I think it's the container in which I sowed the seeds. All of the other chives did not sprout, and I think that the little biodegradable seed starting containers I sowed them are to blame. Reason: They suck the water out of the seed starting mix! Seriously, they drink the water and as a result the mix is constantly drying up, and if I am not there to be watering it, then it goes completely dry, and this is not good when you're trying to start seeds. The little biodegradable cells I used are made of some cardboard-like material, not the ones made out of coconut fiber;  would think that the coconut fiber ones would not have this problem. After this experience with biodegradable cardboard pots I am not using them again.

I still have some old seeds, that expired last year, that I am going to try. Apart from those, I'll be sowing more of the new seeds, and I'll see how it goes. I'll be using the same little pots I prepared for the other old seeds that did not sprout.

Gardening update!

The two Scalloped Yellow Squash seeds I sowed have germinated, and so did my San Marzano tomato! Well, one of them did at least!

I think I also have two of the bunch of chives I sowed. (I hope those are not weeds I'm mistaking for chives!)

In more news, I also sorted all the seed packets I have. All the old ones (which will be discarded if the seeds I planted don't sprout) have been set aside from the newer packets. I have a few packets that are from last year and from two years ago, I also set those aside because they might still be good.
The new ones are all together, neatly stored in their own little sandwich bag.

I hope the eggplants make an appearance soon, and if they don't, then that's okay because I have plenty of seeds and I'm still on time to be starting the eggplants.

Tutorial: How to make a Crochet Chain!

Hello everyone! If you want to learn how to crochet, the first thing you need to learn how to do is a chain. The chain is the base of your project.

First of all, here I include the video I created to help you, since I know these things are kind of hard to explain in words. It's better/easier to just see them in action:

Here are the written instructions:

• To create a chain, you must first create a slip knot. To do this, wrap a bit of yarn around your finger to create a loop, and then, pull the yarn through the loop leaving a new loop open. This is your slip knot (if you don't understand my explanation, don't worry! You can see it step by step in the video.) 

• Next, insert your crochet hook into the loop of the slip knot. To make our chain, we will not be using the short tail; we use the yarn that's still part of the yarn ball. So you may want to put the tail away. That way you won't get confused and end up accidentally using it. 

• Finally, we can start our chain. We take yarn from underneath and then pull it through the loop. We repeat this action over and over until we reach the number of chains required by the pattern of the project. 

*When I say to take the yarn from underneath, I mean that the hook grabs the yarn from underneath, and not from above. We also pull the yarn from underneath when pulling it through the loop. I think I didn't word this too well in the video, so I explain it here. 

*The friend who taught me how to do this when I was in elementary school told me that the motion used from crocheting was similar to that of scooping soup with a spoon. I thought it was nice mentioning this comparison. :)

Thanks for reading! 

If you like my video, please share it so that more people can join in the fun with us :)

Thanks for watching my video. I hope it was easy enough to understand. I sound like a child lol

On the next crochet video tutorial, I will show you how to make the single crochet stitch. We'll make a simple square. 

Share in your comments what you would like to see me post, and I'll see if I can do it. 

Seedling update!

Two of the seeds I sowed the other day have germinated! That was fast!

They are Forget-me-not seeds I got recently. The first to come out! To be honest, I have never had this plant before in my life, and I have little idea about how to take care of it, so I will be reading about that today.

The rest of the seeds have yet to show themselves, but it's understandable, since I only planted them four days ago, and most seeds take a little longer than that. Also most of the other seeds I have there might not germinate at all, since they are old seeds I decided to give a chance to (they expired in 2012!).

I suspect the tomatoes will be germinating soon.

Let's see how it goes. I'm looking forward to sharing all updates--good or bad, but hopefully all good!

Starting Plants from Seeds! Some tips to get you started right

Few things are more gratifying in gardening than starting your plants from seeds. Seeds are cute, inexpensive, and sometimes they could be the only way to get your hands on a specific variety of a plant. Each little packet contains a lot seeds that have the potential to grow as healthy and beautiful as the picture in the front of the packet, if we are careful and take good care of them.

And buying a seed packet can save you money even further! Because the plant will produce its own seeds, and you get to collect them and save them for next season without the need to buy another seed packet, and without the need to buy adult plants or seedlings. You may even have some seeds left for next season from the packets you got, too. What more can you want?

But starting seeds may seem like a complicated science to many people--it was to me, too, to be honest. After trial and error, I've come to learn a few things by observing what went wrong, and what went right.
And so here I will share with you some of my observations, which, admittedly, may seem like no-brainers.

#1 - The soil matters!

Seriously, I can't stress this enough, the soil you're using will inevitably have an impact on the development of the root system of your little seedlings. If the soil you're using is too thick, and has the consistency of mud, for example, your seedlings' roots will be battling to grow, and the result will be a weak, underdeveloped plant.

The good soil will be light, and soft to the touch, without big lumps or pieces of bark. It's best to use a seed starting mix, which will usually be made of vermiculite and peat moss. Just make sure that the mix is light, and that when wet it does not thicken-up or becomes like sticky or thick mud.

#2 - Don't let the soil dry 

If the seeds don't have enough moisture, they will not germinate. And if they have started germinating, and the soil mix has dried, the germination process will end. This has happened to me quite a few times; I live in a sunny and super hot location.

#3 - Don't drown them

That said, you also don't want to wet the soil so much it gets soggy. There will be a risk of the seeds rotting, or developing fungus.

#4 - If there is danger of frost, start your seeds indoors

If there is still danger of frost, it doesn't matter how sunny it looks outside or what month it is, you want to start your seeds indoors. Put them by a sunny window, and once the seedlings emerge, make sure you get them enough, real, sunlight. They will need strong light in order to develop well, if not, they will be leggy and weak.

#5 - Don't water the cells or pots with a stream of water

When you have just planted your seeds, you don't want to water them with a stream of water. This can displace the seeds. Instead, you can use a spray bottle, or water from the bottom.
To water from the bottom, place your pot or your cells on a tray, and then pour water in that tray. The soil will soak up the water from the bottom up.


#6 - Always check the soil for humidity--you don't want to have fungus develop

Touch the soil with your fingertips to check whether it is too dry or too moist. If it is too moist, you want to move it to a sunny location so it can dry a little. Having the soil too wet, as I said above, will cause the seeds either to rot or develop fungus, but having the soil to dry will stop the seeds from germinating.

#7 - When the seedlings emerge, don't put them under the sun right away

Especially if you started the seeds indoors. They are delicate babies at this stage, and the heat of the sun can burn them. Once they have been damaged by the sun, it will be hard for them to recover, if they recover at all.
Harden the seedlings off by placing them under the sun outside for a few minutes to an hour a day, increasing the time each day until they are strong enough to be outside permanently.

#8 - Label them

I am guilty of this, I often forget to label where I put the seeds. (I actually did this time). It's important to label the place where you planted each seed variety, because seeds can have different needs. There may be a seed that needs constant light to germinate, while another could need darkness. You need to place labels so that you know how to take care of each seedling properly, and also so that you don't forget which plant is which until they have grown.


#9 - Have fun! 

Plants can tell if you're not having fun .-.
Nah, I'm kidding there. Or am I? If you're not enjoying what you're doing, there is a chance you will neglect it, it happens.
DO have fun! Don't get stressed; just pay attention to what you're doing and everything will be fine. If it doesn't work now, someday it will.


These are just some tips to keep in mind; there might surely be SO much more to write on this topic, so I might be writing more in the future. Gardening is fun, and you never know it all; there will always be something new to learn. All plants are different, and all gardens are different.

Gardening on my second floor balcony - Week #1 (Getting started!)

Hey everyone! This is my first post on this blog, and I thought I'd make it about gardening! In this blog I will share about my artsy things (crochet creations, paintings, ect) and about my adventures in gardening.


Yesterday I started a lot of seeds, some of which were quite old, and I decided I wanted to blog about it. It will be a container garden I'm creating, and this could be a fun learning experience that we can share together here.

I wrote the following post yesterday on one of my other blogs about the seeds I started, and I want to share it here today:


Today I sowed a LOT of seeds, some of which were quite old and expired (from 2012). The old ones I decided to use in order to see if they’re still good. We’ll see how it goes! I live in a second floor right now, so this will be a container garden. It’s actually a second attempt this year, since last year I didn’t have much success (as in bugs totally ate my plants, except for a cherry tomato plant which was quite productive, but not as much as it could have been. That one was a survivor.)

This time I will be using good soil, not the brand I used last year which was mostly wood shavings, basically. I used an organic seed starting mix today. Seems to be good (it is very soft and light, which I think is best for seeds and seedlings, as in the little new roots won’t have to battle their way through a thick or bumpy soil) and it was just like less than six dollars for a reasonably sized bag (I still have a LOT and I used it for 41 little containers!). And I will be using a store bought potting mix. The potting mix feels very light, much more so than the one I used last year, so I may have more success this year.

I have also been reading about how to make my own potting mix, but I really can’t afford to buy a lot of different materials; I think I will start by just using prepared potting mix and see how it goes.

I also plan on using some bug repellent that’s natural or organic so the bugs don’t come near my plants this time. The peskier ones are some tiny, hairy little bugs that suck the life out of the plants.

This is totally an adventure I started today. I don’t know how it will go, I hope it goes well, and if it doesn’t then at least I will learn from the experience and try something different next season.

*That up there is what I wrote yesterday. I am looking forward to seeing how this all will go, and sharing updates here on this new Blog.


Share this post if you found it interesting, and be on the lookout for more updates :) Soon I will share my links to my social media. Thanks for reading!