March 8 Column: Seed-starting

For this week’s column, I wrote about seed-starting: the supplies you need and the steps to go through in order to be successful. Here’s a link to it in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Give seeds a good start with the right containers, soil and light.

I’ve been starting my own vegetable and flower plants from seed for years. There is something so joyous about watching a tiny seed sprout and grow into a beautiful, productive plant! I’m sure you must share my feelings because we gardeners are a hopeful, optimistic lot, right?

If you’re curious about which seeds I’ve started so far, it’s not a whole lot because many seeds need to be started later. But indoors, I have celery, leeks and artichokes growing. Outdoors, using the winter sowing method, the poppies and onions just recently sprouted. Very exciting!

Since I wanted to share a lot more information about seed-starting, that is the topic of this week’s “Everyone Can Grow a Garden” video, too. I hope you will find both the column and video helpful. And if you’ve never started plants from seed, make this the year to try it out! I guarantee you’ll be hooked. (and please see additional information below the video)

In the video, I mentioned that I like to use a liquid fertilizer for feeding the seedlings. My favorite fertilizer is Drammatic Organic Fertilizer made by Dramm because it is made through more sustainable practices than companies that produce “fish emulsion.” As they state on their website, “Our organic fertilizer is made primarily from the waste produced from fish processing. We convert this into a renewable, organic fertilizer that helps replace chemical fertilizers on commercial farms, golf courses and gardens.” Since I had used up my container of Drammatic Organic Fertilizer last year, I didn’t have a bottle on hand to use in my video! Here is how they create their fertilizer, according to the information on their website:

“Dramm saves and processes over 4 million pounds of fish scraps and waste per year that would otherwise fill landfills, into an environmentally friendly fertilizer. By using waste products from fish processing facilities, Drammatic® Organic™ Liquid Plant Foods are an environmentally sound program that will help restore the earth’s biological soil web.

“Drammatic® Organic is made from fresh fish scraps processed at low temperatures to maintain the integrity of the naturally occurring amino acids, vitamins, and enzymes that are so essential to plant and soil health. This method produces a product called a “hydrolysate”.”

You can find this fertilizer at garden centers as well as Ace Hardware and True Value Hardware stores. It’s also available on Amazon.com.