Now an interlude, a word about the nuts and bolts.
For the sprouting, I got some "miniature greenhouse" starter kits at Walmart.
![[Image: attachment.php?aid=10796]](http://rogue-nation3.com/attachment.php?aid=10796)
This one holds 25 peat pellets to start 25 plants, but the one I'm using is a good bit wider, and holds 72 peat pellets. They come with a bottom tray to hold the peat pellets, the peat pellets themselves, and a clear cover for the greenhouse effect. The 25 pellet tray shown in the picture also came with an envelope of plant food that you mix into a gallon of water to feed the seedlings with. The 72 pellet tray was about 7 1/2 bucks at the local Walmart, and the 25 pellet tray was just under 6 bucks.
What you do is set the pellets in their holders in the bottom of the tray, and pour about an inch or an inch and a half of warm water into the tray. The peat pellets soak that water up like a sponge. They start out about a half inch thick, and after hydration they have expanded to about 2 1/2 or 3 inches tall.
Once the peat pellets are hydrated, you plant the seeds and put the clear cover on the top, and wait.
You may have noticed in the photos that several of the seeds are just sitting on the surface. that is how you "sew" most of this crap. In nature, there is no gardener there to cover the seeds, so they have developed mechanisms to handle getting a root in the ground from the surface. Poppies, tobacco, pampas grass, and the like are surface sewn. The seeds take it from there.
You'll also notice there are several seeds per pellet. That's an old habit. The Indians planted 3 grains per hill of corn to insure that something came up, along with dropping a fish head in for fertilizer. When I was a kid and a teenager, my folks also had me put 3 grains in per hill of corn, for the same reason, but allowed me to omit the fish head. That was pretty gracious of them, on balance. I also had to go along each row of corn periodically with a soup can that had about an inch of gasoline in it, and pick off the bugs eating the corn and drop them in the gas to kill them. I'm a prick like that.
So in this planting, I dropped in anywhere from 3 to about 6 seeds, depending on the crop being sewn. I'll thin them out later to one plant per pellet before I put them in real dirt.
Now the hemp, I planted that in about a quarter inch deep and covered it. But the rest? I just threw 'em on the peat and let nature take it's course... and it looks like it's working. I know the pampas grass will take like that, because I've done it before. Likewise the tobacco. I'm less certain about the quinoa, but time will tell.
And that's all there is to it. Not really very labor intensive at this stage of the game. No more work to do but watch for sprouts, and thin them out in a few weeks after you see which ones are the strongest and fastest growers. At that point, you thin them out to one plant per pellet. Only the strong survive.
I still have about 24 peat pellets left unused in the 72 pellet tray. I'll probably use half of those for another variety of rustica tobacco, and the other half for some red quinoa from Peru after I see if the white quinoa gets a root in the ground from the surface sewing or not. The red quinoa has a stronger taste, and it's just a matter of preference what people will eat. The nutritional value is the same for both.
.
For the sprouting, I got some "miniature greenhouse" starter kits at Walmart.
This one holds 25 peat pellets to start 25 plants, but the one I'm using is a good bit wider, and holds 72 peat pellets. They come with a bottom tray to hold the peat pellets, the peat pellets themselves, and a clear cover for the greenhouse effect. The 25 pellet tray shown in the picture also came with an envelope of plant food that you mix into a gallon of water to feed the seedlings with. The 72 pellet tray was about 7 1/2 bucks at the local Walmart, and the 25 pellet tray was just under 6 bucks.
What you do is set the pellets in their holders in the bottom of the tray, and pour about an inch or an inch and a half of warm water into the tray. The peat pellets soak that water up like a sponge. They start out about a half inch thick, and after hydration they have expanded to about 2 1/2 or 3 inches tall.
Once the peat pellets are hydrated, you plant the seeds and put the clear cover on the top, and wait.
You may have noticed in the photos that several of the seeds are just sitting on the surface. that is how you "sew" most of this crap. In nature, there is no gardener there to cover the seeds, so they have developed mechanisms to handle getting a root in the ground from the surface. Poppies, tobacco, pampas grass, and the like are surface sewn. The seeds take it from there.
You'll also notice there are several seeds per pellet. That's an old habit. The Indians planted 3 grains per hill of corn to insure that something came up, along with dropping a fish head in for fertilizer. When I was a kid and a teenager, my folks also had me put 3 grains in per hill of corn, for the same reason, but allowed me to omit the fish head. That was pretty gracious of them, on balance. I also had to go along each row of corn periodically with a soup can that had about an inch of gasoline in it, and pick off the bugs eating the corn and drop them in the gas to kill them. I'm a prick like that.
So in this planting, I dropped in anywhere from 3 to about 6 seeds, depending on the crop being sewn. I'll thin them out later to one plant per pellet before I put them in real dirt.
Now the hemp, I planted that in about a quarter inch deep and covered it. But the rest? I just threw 'em on the peat and let nature take it's course... and it looks like it's working. I know the pampas grass will take like that, because I've done it before. Likewise the tobacco. I'm less certain about the quinoa, but time will tell.
And that's all there is to it. Not really very labor intensive at this stage of the game. No more work to do but watch for sprouts, and thin them out in a few weeks after you see which ones are the strongest and fastest growers. At that point, you thin them out to one plant per pellet. Only the strong survive.
I still have about 24 peat pellets left unused in the 72 pellet tray. I'll probably use half of those for another variety of rustica tobacco, and the other half for some red quinoa from Peru after I see if the white quinoa gets a root in the ground from the surface sewing or not. The red quinoa has a stronger taste, and it's just a matter of preference what people will eat. The nutritional value is the same for both.
.
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’