Avant Gardening

Inspired by Kari and encouraged by the consistent sunniness, I have been sticking seeds in the ground. This first photo shows just that... (albeit poorly.)

This is a cluster of sprouts that resulted from my tossing of a bell pepper core into the soil between my marigolds.

I had / have very big plans for those little sprouts, as in I am going to turn them into a small army of fruiting beauties and never have to buy a pepper again... but, well, the "had" part (the sad part) is that over the 4th of July weekend they shriveled and died and are now forgotten by all but me.


The good arising from this tragic loss of little lives is that I should be able to repeat these results with little to no effort. I just have to buy ONE MORE pepper. But that will be the last one, honest.


This next very unclear photo is of two thriving sprouts of watermelon, grown from seeds that were germinated indoors and planted on a mound inside of the handy little peat-cup provided by the manufacturers of the little Veggie Tales grow your own water-melon kit that got us into this whole thing. So far the little guys are doing great, though in this photo there are two stalks and not the 3 that there initially were. Last night I spotted the first of the big stalk's characteristic corkscrew tendrils. It was cute.


Aside from these humble little guys, I have been largely unsuccessful with growing, but I am still hopeful that the seeds I harvested from my marigolds will grow. I waited for the flower head to dry and fall off the still living stalk, and then separated the seeds by pulling them out of their hull. I sprinkled them over a pot with a fine mixture of potting soil and my own compost soil, and raked them under just a tad. A nightly watering and lots of sunlight should, soon (cross your fingers), turn them into lots more cheery orange flowers.