Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Seedstarting: Stuff that works
Yes, I'm doing a lot of gardening-related posts lately. I expect I'll do more. Gardening is almost as big a love of mine as music, and knowing what to do is likely to be worthwhile, sooner or later.
So I was looking at starting some seeds for a fall/winter crop. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, USDA Zone 9ish (maybe 8.5), I can grow hardy stuff all winter long.
I went out to the tool shed to dig out my seed starter flats. I have a couple of "self-watering" kits originally from Gardener's Supply in Vermont. They're part of the APS (Accelerated Propagation System) line of seed starting trays. I discovered that I have everything but the dome lids to keep the moisture in until the seeds germinate. Rather than lose two weeks to hunting around for lids I might never find, I went to the Internet. And I discovered that not only do the folks at Gardener's Supply have additional APS kits; they have replacement parts.
I could have just gotten replacement lids. But I decided to replace the capillary mats too, because they're getting old.
Total cost for replacements and spares: $27. Cost to replace the APS units: $40 plus shipping. Mission accomplished; now I just need to wait for the stuff to arrive in about two weeks.
In the meantime, I may start fava beans and peas direct in the garden, or I might wait a few weeks for the weather to cool off a bit.
So I was looking at starting some seeds for a fall/winter crop. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, USDA Zone 9ish (maybe 8.5), I can grow hardy stuff all winter long.
I went out to the tool shed to dig out my seed starter flats. I have a couple of "self-watering" kits originally from Gardener's Supply in Vermont. They're part of the APS (Accelerated Propagation System) line of seed starting trays. I discovered that I have everything but the dome lids to keep the moisture in until the seeds germinate. Rather than lose two weeks to hunting around for lids I might never find, I went to the Internet. And I discovered that not only do the folks at Gardener's Supply have additional APS kits; they have replacement parts.
I could have just gotten replacement lids. But I decided to replace the capillary mats too, because they're getting old.
Total cost for replacements and spares: $27. Cost to replace the APS units: $40 plus shipping. Mission accomplished; now I just need to wait for the stuff to arrive in about two weeks.
In the meantime, I may start fava beans and peas direct in the garden, or I might wait a few weeks for the weather to cool off a bit.
Labels: APS, gardens, seed starting
