The Seed Club Challenge – Growing Vegetables from Seed
My current challenge came in the form of a Christmas gift from my children.
Presumably not impressed by the sight of my empty vegetable garden, they gave me a subscription to receive seasonal vegetable seeds from D&H Seed Harvest Co. Each month, a new envelope of carefully selected seeds arrives in the mail, chosen specifically to suit the season. It provides a convenient way to explore a variety of vegetables I might not otherwise think to grow.
I normally take the easier path and buy established seedlings, so starting from seeds adds an extra level of care and effort. That makes it perfect for the Scarecrows & Garden Gnomes badge.
I will document the process, the progress, and the results as this project unfolds.
The First Delivery – December
When the first envelope of seeds arrived in December, I was keen to get started straight away. I made a quick visit to Bunnings to purchase a mini greenhouse and potting mix, hoping to give the seeds the best possible start.
I planted seeds for chinese cabbage, lettuce, leek, radish, purple cauliflower and white cherry tomato. Although I tended to them well for 6 weeks, no seedlings appeared.
At this point, with very little expectation of success, I tipped the contents of the mini hothouse into the vegetable garden so that I could reuse the tray. To my surprise, two white cherry tomato seedlings later appeared. I moved these next to the tomato seedling that had sprung up from last year's planting.
I look forward to seeing what a white cherry tomato looks like.
January
No seeds arrived this month.
February
A simple email to the supplier resulted in the January seeds being included with the February delivery.
January
- baby broccoli
- rainbow silverbeet
- adzuki bean
- radish
- black beauty eggplant
February
- purple top turnip
- celery
- radish
- green cauliflower
- brussels sprouts
Based on my earlier results, I didn’t have high expectations for this new round of planting. However, it has been very satisfying to finally see seedlings emerging.
