Starting Seeds

March 3, 2010

Starting seeds -- or otherwise known as something to do with your time during the winter. I purchased Nigella damascena 'Miss Jekyll' seeds from Chiltern Seeds in Cumbria, England. To start the seeds I made soil blocks out of Fafard's Superfine Seed Germinating mix. To make soil blocks, you need a soil blocker and have to throughly wet the mix to enable the soil to stick together to form the blocks. I placed a few seeds in the indentation of each soil block. I didn't cover the seeds with soil. I did cover the flat with a plastic dome and placed the flat on a heating mat. The seeds were very easy to germinate and germinated in only 5 days. Since I started the seeds on January 31, the seedlings are now about 4 weeks old and have their first true leaves. I've included some pictures.