Plant them and they will grow

One of my biggest joys at the moment is going into the gardening section of a store, to gaze at the myriad of pots and gardening accessories while inhaling the crisp aroma of fertiliser, and imagine the amazing things I can grow in the future. It was on one of these occasions recently that I found myself in Kmart and discovered just how cheap their prices really are these days. I walked away with a watering can (hurrah!) and a self-watering pot (which kind of defeats the purpose of the watering can). 

Back home on the balcony my lettuce was growing like crazy, as were the carrots. It was time to separate them out a little. 

My gardening-savvy flatmate is now back from her overseas jaunt and thus was able to play the role of photographer so you get some action shots this week. She also offered advice as I worked. 

She recommended using the hand-rake thing to make even holes in the soil to put the seedlings into. 

As I worked away to separate the seedlings and transfer them to their new home, Garden-Savvy Flatmate (GSF) looked quizzically at the pots and asked: Did you plant a whole packet of seeds? 

Me: Yes

GSF: Yeah, you don't really need to do that. 

Me: Oh...well, I didn't think that they would grow.

And thus I learnt that a pot does not need a whole packet of seeds. The smarter thing would have been to plant a few, then a few weeks later plant a few more to have a longer-lasting crop. You live you learn. I ended up popping some lettuce seedlings into some small plastic pots and plan to give them away to people once they mature a bit more - no better way to spread the gardening joy!

How does your garden grow?

It's been two weeks since I sowed my seeds. Every day I have dutifully put my chilli seeds outside for a day in the sun and taken them in of an evening (just like a pet). Apparently they don't like the cold and can't handle being outside until the weather is constantly above 20 degrees. As I live in Melbourne, I doubt that this will ever happen and I will forever be carting pots in and out of the house. 

My sister told me that plants like it when you talk to them, so in the morning when I'm putting the chilli outside I say hello to my plants and wish them a happy day, and in the evening when I take the chilli inside I ask the plants if they enjoyed the sunshine/rain/had a good day. I think I am developing the reputation of 'that strange girl on the top floor' as some people in the building are starting to avoid eye contact with me. But I don't really care as my plants seem to like it and lo-and-behold, I have some growth! 

Here is my lettuce after the first week:

    

This week we have had some heavy rain (love it, as it means I don't have to water the plants and/or the neighbours) so I didn't head outside for a few days. Seemed that the plants loved the soaking and this morning when I went outside my lettuce had flourished beyond my wildest dreams. I think it's time I separated the seedlings into a few different pots. 

The carrots have also decided to make an appearance. For some reason I find this quite magical. I love how carrots grow under the soil and it's not until you pull them up that you discover what they've turned out like. 

The Snow on the Mountain is yet to make an appearance but I'm quietly confident that it'll happen soon. On the herb side of things, my coriander is thriving and my parsley has a new lease on life, but unfortunately the basil seedling decided it didn't like its new home and has withered and died. Oh well, guess you can't win 'em all.