Fortunately, 4 seeds have shown some strength in hopes that their fruits would eventually continue their tree family. These seeds were the ones planted in soil. We are still waiting on a few more to come through.
As for the seeds in the refrigerator, on the windowsill, and on the top of the refrigerator, they will be omitted from this experiment, because they have all decided to hang out in the afterlife. The seeds that were wet became moldy, while the one that was cooled had missed its coming to the world event, because my own life events prevented necessary timing for planting. Oops :)
Here are the new tree sprouts; there are three that are recognizable, and one where the very beginning of sprouting is happening.
Now, let me tell you, we moved the tray from outside, into our mud room in which we converted into a green house. Here we are growing herbs and veggies.
We (Joey and I) had a little help from a few friends to build the planter box, and the construction of the box varied slightly when we had to take into consideration the slope of the floor in the mud room. Knowing the wood we chose was pressure treated and may contain chemicals, we were weary about the choice of wood, but it was the cheapest and also the most sturdy and "bang for your buck" wood. The soil we used was bags of miracle grow; we contemplated digging up some soil/dirt from the yard but we didn't want to deal with the bugs, and this soil we bought had fertilizer in it to start. First step after assembly was to drill random holes in the bottom for drainage. Next, we laid down river rocks on the bottom of the planters, added a layer of weed barrier and then added the soil on top. Then, we added the plants that were planted in the starter kit. The starter kit did not have seeds, but it had soil and slots for the dirt. The dimensions of the planter was (all approximate) 8' length, 2' depth, and the depths are 8" for the top and 12" for the bottom. We raised the bottom planter off of the floor approximately 1.5"for drainage purposes. Our water source is conveniently located between the top and the bottom planters. The top of the planter box sits directly underneath the window.
We have windows that are between the exterior and interior of the house, but only on one side of the mud room, so we were able to find some lighting that our friend had used for his plants in the past who did not need them anymore.
A close up on some of the herbs: Big Italian Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme, Dwarf Parsley, Oregano, Cilantro, Mammoth Dill, Dukat Dill, Sweet Basil, Chives, Lemon Lime Basil. On the other side, (not pictured) we have Arugula, Romaine Lettuce, and Spinach.
On the lower level, we have potatoes! This is very exciting for me, because as a kid growing up, when the potatoes went "bad" they started growing leaves and we just threw them away. This time we decided to plant them, and look what we have! :) There is also garlic on the bottom, but it hasn't started to show yet.
Outside we have a variety of plants. Top photo, from front to back: Mint, Chocolate Mint, Lemon tree (a gift from my best friend Hillie). Bottom photo: from left to right - Avocado Tree (grown from the pit, started in a moist paper towel and plastic bag on away from sunlight), Apple Mint, Spearmint, Basil, Parsley, Orange Mint, and the smallest, what we think may be cilantro or a weed. (:
Also...
These little grasshoppers are EVERYWHERE and they keep eating my flowers...
Its all black and then it has red parts on the middle abdomen. I can't figure out what type it is, but they are swarming everywhere, like dozens of them. They like to eat the petals on my Dianthus plants !! :(
So far, I am happy with the results of the orange seeds. It will be exciting to see how many more will continue to pop up! I'll keep posts periodically so make sure to check back! =)
- D
