Marigolds
So! As of April 22nd, we’re still in the seedling phase. BUT I wanted to note a difference I’m seeing between 2020’s marigold seedlings and what we see now. The germination this year was incredible: not to exaggerate but it took a week at the most. And the blooms are even brighter, more saturated, more neon. Of course, at this stage the blooms are not the central focus since they will continue to deadhead and grow back, larger and larger, once planted. We want a healthy start to the plant (that last year averaged between 2-3ft)! But it’s a nice bonus to have them so early on. And there are so many!
So what is the difference between 2021 and 2020? Not much; we are using the same grow shelf setup, same lights…except in 2021 we have
the velvet input: essential minerals. They are much simpler to use than popular fertilizers for “feeding” seedlings because they won’t pose any danger of burning the plants.
The minerals can be used to coat seeds, they can be mixed into seed starting mixes, and can be added to the crop at any stage. It’s great to see the difference they can make at the earliest stage.
I think I’ve heard them referred to as “rock dust” – though I have to look into this further to make sure they are the same thing.
Tomatoes & Peppers
I think these seedlings have also benefitted from this year’s major change in seed starting. They germinated very quickly, and are holding up well. We also are successfully resisting the common urge to over-love them by overwatering them (haha). Making sure that they are hydrated but not oversoaked is a balance that happens with practice IMO. But just a quick note:
a random bag of “minerals” isn’t necessarily a one-and-done input. The ones I accessed for seed starting have absolutely made a difference, however, for some plants it seemed that I also needed to add in some extra potassium once the true leaves showed up. This element is present in the minerals but IMO it’s not enough for the early stages. An ideal mix in the future will include some form of potash (or even something like a powder of dehydrated banana peels?): sustainable sources of potassium, not lab-synthesized.
