Posts Tagged ‘ seeds ’

Troubleshooting: Tomato Seedlings

By
Troubleshooting: Tomato Seedlings

One of my readers, Ray, is trying valiantly to grow carefully chosen tomatoes from seed. But he’s getting frustrated: My plants were looking a little yellow so I figured they needed sun, but maybe I left them out too long. Some look basically dead…leaves are like blanched or something. How long does it take usually to get them used to the sun? Is it like an hour a day then two hours then 3 and so on or less/more? I feel frustrated because I put a lot of effort into selecting my seeds and getting the seed soil and everything else. I have my last bit of seeds in damp soil inside medium pots…I am pretty sure they are germinating…at this point are they better just planted outside you think?? Ray, tomatoes are something that I bought as plants for YEARS. If you’re new to gardening, I hate to see you frustrated trying to start tomatoes from seed. Do you have a local source for heirloom tomato plants? They’re more expensive, but way less frustrating! As far as seeds go, I’ve found that you really need to keep the seedlings at a consistent temperature with consistent moisture (maintain moisture...

Read more »

Saving Seeds: Basil

By
Saving Seeds: Basil

 

Read more »

Straw Bale Fail

By
Straw Bale Fail

(If you’re reading this on the front page, click through for more images.) I’ve been gardening for years, but the idea of planting in straw bales is new to me. I ran across this post about straw bale gardening earlier this year and was intrigued enough to mention in on the Attainable Sustainable Facebook page. It seemed like a perfect way to add a garden to a space that was less than ideal for growing. My own garden space is severely sloped and we were in the process of terracing it with rock walls to create more usable space when my husband’s job took him off the island for an extended period. Without my rock guy, I was stuck – until I remembered those straw bales. I did a little reading and learned that straw bales could last a couple of years in the garden. If they lasted that long, why couldn’t I use them to retain my garden? I’d have the level planting space I needed, plus I could grow more vegetables right in the “wall.” I enlisted my teenagers to help me move the bales into place (they’re awkward and a bit heavy). The good news: the...

Read more »

Peppers!

By
Peppers!

I’ve struggled to grow bell peppers in the past. They just didn’t thrive and they took a really long time to mature. A couple of years ago I picked up a six-pack of Gypsy bells and planted them in my California garden. And oh my word. Talk about prolific! These peppers were nice and sweet, with a bell shape though not quite as large and square as your standard bell pepper. The plants were loaded all season and the peppers just kept coming. I had way more than I needed. This year, I ordered seeds (incidentally, they’re hard to find) and started plants myself. These are shaped a little differently than they ones I’d grown in the past. We’ll see how they compare over the season. (Kicking myself that I didn’t save some of the seeds from that first Gypsy bell crop!)

Read more »

Broccoli!

By
Broccoli!

It’s Memorial Day Weekend and normally, I wouldn’t even consider posting here. However, the WordCount blogathon continues, and I’ve made it this far, posting every day in May. For the weekend, you’ll have to content yourself with an image a day from my garden. Today: broccoli. This is the first time I’ve grown broccoli, so it was exciting to find that these plants actually do make…broccoli!

Read more »

How to Plant a Seed

By
How to Plant a Seed

As someone who’s been growing a garden – or at least helping to grow a garden – since I was a child, it is almost unfathomable to me that someone could not know how to plant a seed. I’ve had several people ask me about seed starting recently, though, so I have to assume that there are more people out there who have yet to acquire this knowledge. Good news: It’s simple! To get a head start on the growing season, plan to start your seeds 4-6 weeks before you’ll be ready to set them out in the garden. This will be determined by your region’s last frost date. You don’t want to plant your garden too early, only to have Jack Frost kill all of your little plants. You will need: A container: You can reuse nursery containers if you have them, or alternatively, use plastic containers scrounged from the recycle bin* Potting soil (available at nurseries or hardware stores) Seeds Fill your containers with potting soil to within 1″ of the top. Seed packets include planting directions and will note the planting depth for each type of seed. Generally speaking, if you’re planting a large seed (beans,...

Read more »

Save a Seed

By
Save a Seed

I read recently that seeds saved from a pepper are easy to grow. Of course, I had to try it. Instead of discarding the seeds from a jalapeno pepper I was cooking with, I stuck several of them into a small container full of potting mix. I now have several pepper seedlings that I can plant out in the garden once they’re a bit bigger. I’m going to try the same with banana peppers and bell peppers, too, rather than purchasing seeds or plants.

Read more »

Join Me!

e-book

Free Email Alerts!

Click 'subscribe' once, then check your email for a confirmation message.

Welcome

It’s one thing to think, “Hey, I’d love to be more self-sufficient!” and quite another to implement a lifestyle change that might require learning some new skills.

Attainable Sustainable is about bridging the gap between wanting change and making it happen without becoming overwhelmed. Nobody’s saying you have to go get a tractor and a cow. Attainable Sustainable is about discovering – one step at a time – how to make changes in your life to support a sustainable lifestyle.

The Author

Kris Bordessa has been gardening for most of her life. She's been authoring books and writing features for the past ten years or so. It's about time she combined the two, don't you think? [More about the author]