I can talk the talk, but can I walk the walk?

So, in case you were thinking that I must be some fantastic organic gardener or something, let me put your minds at ease…

I thought I was so clever with my little toilet paper rolls, all frugal and green.

Last week we spent a couple of hours soaking our seeds, filling the rolls with soil, and planting the little seeds, before placing them in some plastic containers that I thought I could use to function as mini-greenhouses.

Here was the situation:

Plastic containers with lids
+ wet cardboard
+ too much water
+ not big enough air holes
+ very inexperienced gardener who would like to believe she knows what she’s doing

= MOLD!!!

Only two days into growing my seedlings, I noticed that nearly all of the little sticks I had used to label them had something that looked suspiciously like mold.

Guess who’s husband made a last minute run to the store to buy pre-made seedling containers and more soil (thanks honey!)? And guess who spent an hour or more that evening carefully transplanting each and every little seed?

I never said I could garden! I only said that I want to. There’s a big, big difference.

(These are the lovely little seedlings after the transplant, where they now sit in an open plastic container, so that we have continual air flow.)

A lesson well learned. And may you all reap the benefits of my silly mistake that nearly cost me a whole lot of precious heirloom seeds!