Inch by inch, row by row...

Things are growing here--not just my children, either! I have been out digging in the garden, planting vegetables these last two days. There is something satisfying, on an almost primal level, about making things grow. I think it's in our DNA to take pleasure in planting and tending food crops. I started with seeds, planted (with potting soil) in egg cartons. You have to use the cardboard kind, not the shiny plastic foam ones, incidentally. Once they have successfully sprouted indoors, you cut apart each egg cup section and put the whole thing in the ground. No need to transplant, the egg carton just degrades into the soil. In fact, when I planted the tiny sprouts, the roots had already begun to grow through the egg cartons, so they are on their way.

To protect them as they get used to being outdoors, I cut the bottom off some clear plastic cups and inverted one over each seedling. I even found corn-based biodegradable clear cups--how cool is that? They are fully compost-able! I got them at Smart & Final, a warehouse grocery and food service supply store.

We also experimented with homemade seed tape for the radishes and carrots, an idea I found in a book. The way you do it is to cover a table with foil or wax paper, then lay out some white toilet paper in a strip as long as your garden rows will be, or just a bit longer. Work indoors or in a protected area, or your TP will blow away! Then you make a paste of flour and water (mix it about as thick as house paint) and paint it down the middle of the TP with a small brush or the back of a spoon, working gently so as not to tear the paper. Next, you put your seeds into the paste, spaced as far apart as the seed package recommends (often for radishes it's one inch or so). You then fold over the outside edges of the TP into the paste, both sides over the center, like you were wrapping a burrito, until you have one long, narrow strip. Let it dry thoroughly. When they are dry, roll the strips up and place them in a plastic bag. Every two weeks, plant one of these strips in your garden. The toilet paper will break down quickly in the soil, and the flour paste will dissolve, providing some extra nutrients for the seeds. By spacing your plantings every two weeks, you should have new radishes or carrots maturing all season. We just tried this for the first time this year, so I'll let you know how it goes! But at least we won't have all our radishes planted together in a clump, where they have no room to grow (this happened at my church's garden when the Sunday School kids planted them).

Anyway, my real challenge may be keeping the bunnies and squirrels out of the "buffet". I'll keep you posted!