Wild Hope Homestead

I’m in my 38th week now and I get patches of energy when I must do things. These are followed by stretches of zombie-like lethargy and a bit of regret about my over-enthusiasm. Now I’ve gone and sowed some seeds. I thought I better do it before Little Twiglet arrives and today is beautifully sunny. Seed-sowing was a much better idea than the weed spraying I did the other day. That was definitely too much for my back, but I just got sick of all the ivy everywhere so I wanted to teach it a lesson with some woody weedkiller. Take that!

Without a potting bench in my shed, I resorted to sitting on the floor potting up my seed trays over a large raised-up bowl. That sounds terribly awkward, but it was no doubt better for my back than standing would have been. And I wasn’t about to cart my bag of seed raising mix out anywhere else. I also discovered that I had run out of plant labels. How did that happen? I had to use some wooden chopsticks instead, which enable the practicing of tiny writing.

Now, I’m not entirely sure where all these things are going to be planted, but what have I got to lose? Here’s what I sowed. I did all my above-ground Solanaceae crops: tomatoes, capsicums and chillies, except for cherry tomatoes. I was so disappointed with the ‘Small Fry’ cherry tomatoes last year that I won’t bother growing them again. I’m going to choose a red variety from Kings Seeds and maybe even a coloured variety just to mix things up. I’ve sowed six seeds of each of the following tomatoes: Amish Paste, Black Krim and Big Beef. The same biggies as last year. Then I sowed six chillies, the name of which I don’t know but they are from ‘sauce chillies’ bought at the Farmers’ Market last season, six Capsicum ‘California Wonder’, a red capsicum, and nine Capsicum ‘Colour Salad Selection’, which are different colours and shapes. I think that’s enough for me to handle this season. It’s always better to sow too many seeds than not enough. There are always some that won’t germinate or some that won’t survive past ‘childhood’.

I put the seed trays in my handy long plant trays and filled these with water so the seed raising mix could soak it up from the bottom. This is much safer and more efficient for seed-growing than sprinkle watering from the top. When the media became wet on top I tipped out the remaining water and put the trays into the hot water cupboard. Apparently Solanaceae seeds are fine with germinating in the dark and this should keep them nice and warm for a good start. I just have to figure out where to sit them once the seedlings emerge…