Hulless happiness, germination damnation

A while ago I ordered some different grain seeds from Salt Spring Seeds, a heritage and heirloom seed supplier on Salt Spring Island, BC. I was looking for hulless grains in particular – grains that have naturally loose hulls that can be separated by rubbing or shaking. Most grains these days need to be hulled, which is generally done mechanically, though I'm sure there are many non-mechanical ways of accomplishing it, too (this is why I must spend some time visiting some traditional cultures). Since I'm interested in self-sufficiency, I'd like to grow grains that require a minimal energy investment. A rudimentary search for hulless barley and hulless oats (the only hulless grains I've yet discovered) led me to the catalog for Salt Spring Seeds, so I ordered from there.

I got the seeds a couple days ago, along with golden flax and Indian Blue corn I'd also ordered. It wasn't a new moon recently – rather, quite the opposite – but it's getting late in the season, so I thought I'd forgo the cosmic calendar this once and sow seeds anyway. Meta also thought it would be nice for some morning glories to swallow the backyard's ramshackle fencing. So I sowed.

It seems I haven't been doing a very good job getting my tomatoes and sweet peppers to germinate. In case you were wondering, none have germinated yet, and it's been several weeks for some of them. I don't know why I thought it would be okay for my ungerminated tomatoes and peppers to spend their nights at or below 10ºC. I guess I forgot to read the instructions. I read some guidelines today, which clearly state that peppers germinate best between 24ºC and 29ºC (at least above 18ºC) and that tomatoes germinate best between 21ºC and 27ºC (and never below 10ºC). Maybe that's why most greenhouses have heaters, hey? Yet the concept still seems kind of wrong to me. :) I suppose I should really just stop trying to grow tropical vegetables in Toronto.

So I sowed the last of my pepper seeds and a bunch more tomato and groundcherry seeds, and this time I've brought them inside to germinate. One of the articles I read suggests putting the trays on top of the fridge. I think I'll try that and see how it goes.

Planting by the moon

The biointensive method of gardening derives its name from the two methods it has its roots in: biodynamic agriculture and French intensive gardening. Biodynamic farming is a holistic system of growing food involving many spiritual concepts, including the idea that the moon and planets are cosmic forces that influence plant fertility. Biointensive gardening shares this view, particularly with regards to the lunar cycle, which is clearly described in the biointensive bible, How to Grow More Vegetables (henceforth referred to as HtGMV). I scanned a couple helpful illustrations from the book that explain how it works:

This morning was the new moon. Following the above guide, I sowed most of my short-germinating seeds in flats this afternoon, including lettuce, spinach, chard, onions, peppers, cilantro, and even carrots (and I realize it's not recommended to sow carrots in flats, as transplanting risks harming their roots, but apparently if you do it biointensively, it's okay). I have three types of flats I'm trying out at the moment:

• 9-cell seedling trays that you commonly get seedlings in at garden centres (Jen found seven of them on the side of the road, like just about everything else we own)
• plastic egg cartons (the awful ones you have no choice but to accumulate as a consumer of organic eggs)
• the bottoms of old cardboard boxes, cut to be about 3 inches deep

I have a feeling that the egg carton seedlings aren't going to fare so well due to the egg cups' short stature. HtGMV says:

The depth [of 3 inches] is critical since an overly shallow flat allows the seedling roots to touch the bottom too soon. When this occurs, the plants believe they have reached their growth limit, and they enter a state of "premature senility." In this state the plants begin to flower and fruit even though they are only transplanting size. We have experienced this with broccoli and dwarf marigolds; the broccoli heads were the size of the nail on a little finger.

But I read this after I'd already poked holes through the egg cartons for drainage, rendering them undesirable as egg cartons. I had to make good use of them, you understand.

The cardboard box idea I derived from the flat design described in HtGMV, but they make theirs out of wood (and I'm sure I'll figure out why they didn't suggest using cardboard in no time). They're a lot heavier than regular seedling trays that you buy, and they're not nearly as convenient for transplanting (it takes time to separate the roots), but I'm sure the plants will thank me for it (and then I'll reply, "No, thank you!").

I put some of the cooler-germinating flats in the cold frame, and the other flats needing warmer temperatures on the window sill. I can't wait to see how they fare with the sunshine and warmth expected in the next couple days.