Soooooo Spring is here! That means it's time to clean up the garden and get things in order to start the season. Again... surprise, surprise, I'm behind. LOL
BUT! I have started little by little to get things going. 🎉
For the indoor greenhouse, I have begun to clear away things on the shelves so I can put my seedling trays there. Imagine a 4.5" by 5" space that has light weight bearing metal poles and flimsy shelf wires with a plastic cover around it. I added LED light bars and reflective plastic insulation so I can mimic some type of grow-friendly atmosphere and I start my seeds in there. It has served me really well!
[Alt Text for Image: Indoor metal framed shelved greenhouse with a clear plastic cover, then again covered by reflective plastic bubble insulation. There are live plants along the top shelves and some empty seed trays ready to use for the seasson]
Cleaning that up opened the way to cleaning my seedling trays. Last season, I ordered quite a few 6-cell seed trays from Epic Gardening. They were robust and sturdy and I was tired of using the really thin seed starting trays every big box store sells. I can probably use these trays for the rest of my gardening life. So I popped into the backyard, got my camera set up and set up a washing station for these trays. Mind you, they’ve been outside for just about a year because I had seedlings that were sadly neglected in them from last season. I’ll get to that in a minute…
So I set up a UV protected plastic container with some plain water from the hose (not rain water, not filtered, no soap either). I figured I could brush off the dirt and then scrub away anything nasty in the water to prep the pots. To disinfect, I’d just spray them with rubbing alcohol and let that dry overnight. But to have a place for those trays to go, I had to start cleaning the indoor greenhouse (see last paragraph).
It was nice to get things in the garden started again. Since Nov. 2024, things have been pretty stressful in the U.S.A. The elections, the administration, and the uncaring nastiness from fellow citizens is a downer, though not surprising. Anyone who swore racism in this country was dead had no idea what was happening around them. So I had to find other ways to pick myself up. I didn’t want the garden to suffer any more so I decided to leave things where they were and come back to it when I was ready.
The Neglected Seedlings & Plants
I have a really bad habit of getting excited to see a new plant or seed, get it started and then go off to start another project. My fellow plant rescuers know what it’s like to walk by the clearance racks in the garden section and suddenly find themselves with some new plant orphans to take care of. Well, I think I was getting used to the excitement of the save but then I didn’t have the energy or motivation to see it through. So, I will be more mindful in 2025 to only get things I will plant right away, or store in a way I can use them successfully later. No more neglect for my seeds or my needs.
Back to cleaning the cell trays – I was able to get through 2 full trays – at 72 cells each – that’s 144 spots for seedlings! 72 should be enough, but I like to have extras! Normally I set up a full tray of marigolds, a tray for experiments, a tray for other helpful flowers and then my veggies. For now, I will just start with some veggies and maybe my experiments. Will show that on my seedling video that should be recorded soon.
It was nice to have a chat while cleaning. Chores are really loathsome now that I’m older. I have an attachment to them of missing out on things and having to do something I never wanted to in the first place. I’m working on that because having a clean house and clean things is nice! Clean garden tools and containers is REALLY important to keep your seeds healthy and happy. So cleaning the two trays seemed to fly by while I rambled through my 2024 Recap.
What did I actually talk about? LOTS of STUFF! Hahaha but at least I had a list of items I could refer back to. Check out the video below to see how I did last season.