New Seed starting and update on last one

Last few days have taught me few lessons on patience and perseverance. Seed starting which I had initiated on 3rd May have started giving results. Some very encouraging and some disappointing.  Cucumber, Kosala Saag and Okra have done reasonably well while bitter gourd, ridge gourd and coriander are showing no signs of sprouts. Here are the pic of what succeeded.

[caption id="attachment_35" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="True leafs of cucumber - 9th day after sowing."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_36" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Okra seedlings, only 4 out of 6 germinated."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_37" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Kosala Saag - So many sprouts!! :)"][/caption]

Out of what hasn't succeeded till now, bitter gourd still has a faint chance of sprouting. So, that seed bed is left untouched. Coriander seed have now been declared to be of bad quality and hence the seed bed has been allotted to spinach. Ridge gourd hasn't shows any sign of life, but we are still watering it hoping for a miracle!!

Last weekend was a action filled day for the gardener in me. I made a trip to Lalbagh, Nursery Men's Co-operative Association. It warmed my heart to see so many garden enthusiasts there, all making some purchase for their gardens. I too purchased seeds for the following vegetables: Tomato, Brinjal, Peas, Beans, Carrot, Chilli and Bell Pepper. I also bought 3 different varities of flower seeds: Petunia, gladiolus and another variety for which i don't remember the name right now. It cost me a total of Rs. 200/- of course excluding the entree fee and parking fee :)

Last weekend I also made trip to Kudlu Compost Factory. I think the job at the compost factory is definitely worth a slot in Discovery's 'Dirty Jobs' show. I bought a 25kg bag of 'Agro Rich Compost' (plain aero compost i believe) from them for just Rs. 100/-. They were very happy to get rid of it. I believe not many retail buyers go there for buying compost. They even offered free home delivery on a call. Here is there number: 5730649 in case someone needs it (They also sell vermi-compost at 120 per 20kg bag).

I have thought of doing little improvisation in the seed starting process this time. Last time i had put all the seeds on the soil in different beds. That led to problems like; few options for providing desired shade and protection from heavy sun/rain to the seeds. Also in the event of some seeds not germinating from a group like in my case it was Okra, it leaves open space in the bed making it look not so organized.

So, i decided to buy some seed starting containers. Inquired at Lalbagh and they quoted Rs.10/- for each. I require a bigger number (at least 25). So, i thought of trying out some cheaper options and settled for the normal plastic glass (Sugar Cane juice size). It cost me Rs. 40/- for 100 pieces. Let's see how this experiment works out.

I made a mix of compost and red soil in the ratio of 1:5 ratio for seed starting. Hoping it's ok. My wife labeled all the glasses (She has asked to give her full credit for it - and here it is) and we sowed seeds of all the vegetable varieties in them (Date - 10-05-09). Here is how it look finally.

[caption id="attachment_38" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Seed starting in plastic glasses (Sugar cane juice size)"][/caption]

One problem with my lawn is, it doesn't get sunlight all day and only half of it gets sunlight during the day. Also, from the half which gets sunlight, a major part is taken away by the rain water drain and the foundation of the wall (All concrete). So, i have to go for lot's of containers for my plants. I have already put the 2 10kg fevicol dabbas (Which were bought for interior work) to use. One of them now plants the jasmine, bought from a nursery some time back and other one is waiting for a plant.

With the seed starting done, i was wondering what to do with so many seeds that are stil lying with me. Some time back i read on GeekGardener's (A container gardener from bangalore) blog about seed swapping. Would be wonderful if we can get something like that going. After all each gardener would like to see all the seed with him taking the form of a plant (Even if it's not in his own place).

At this stage I'm full of dreams, dreams of lush green garden in my backyard with so many varities of vegetables in them and being self sufficient in terms of my vegetable requiement. Too big a dream for City Life ??!!