Use and Re-use: My infinitissimal 'bit' for the universe
There is a big drive in the UK horticulture industry for both producers and consumers to reduce known negative impacts of our activities on the environment. We may not be activists or government policy makers but I’m sure there are changes we can all make as individuals in the various spheres of life that could begin to make a difference, if we so wish to.
A sphere of my life that I am looking to make changes in is gardening. I love these words from Vincent van Gough’,
‘Great things are done by a series of small things put together’.
I personally want to be a more responsible, 100% organic gardener. I am not going to crucify myself to achieve my objective. I plan to explore options and make a series of changes that will, over time, transform the way I do things for the better. Two things I’m experimenting with this year are:
Re-using waste household and food items.
Using peat-free seed medium wherever possible - seed germinating immediately springs to mind, a large prized rose bush in a container doesn’t. Why peat-free? Peat deposits are under threat in certain regions of the world. Peat is organic matter found in wetlands that has decomposed and become compressed over millennia. Peat deposits can be found all over the world and have traditionally been exploited by man for fuel, farming, tooling as well as social purposes for thousands of years. In today’s horticulture industry, peat is prized as a key component of container plant growing media because of it’s nutritive and water-balancing properties. When container mediums begin to dry out, peat’s water-retaining properties kick in. Interestingly, in wet conditions, peat helps prevent plant roots from becoming water-logged and starved of oxygen. Industry is having to make changes in certain countries where the peat deposits are now being destroyed by man at a faster rate than they are naturally replenished (takes thousands of years!). This destruction affects plant and animal wildlife too. The Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, UK, has discouraged the use of peat as a soil-amendment material since 2003.
I already compost plant material and food waste on my allotment plot. Over the past two years I’ve reduced the need for container media, watering and fertilisers for all types of plant by 99% by planting literally HUNDREDS of plants into the ground. I now only need container growing medium for a few exotics and for the germination of some seeds. As someone who currently has no outdoor space at home, I do feel privileged to have my allotment plots. Happy!
I mentioned in my post on 21 February that I have switched to peat-free coconut coir for the indoor germination of most vegetable and flower plant seeds. So, it’s going to be either coconut coir or soil in open ground on my plots for the germination of most of my new plants.
The final piece of the puzzle has fallen into place now. I already use empty egg boxes for budding (or chitting) potatoes before planning. I have now started to re-purpose waste household materials such as plastic food containers and used teabags for seed germination.
Used teabags are ideal for seed germination because they each bag contains wettable ground organic matter (tea leaves and/or flowers) that has enough nutrients to support seed germination and seedlings at the very early stages of development. Seedlings develop strong root systems as they ramify in search of nutrients. For this reason, seed sowing media is often formulated to contain limited amounts of nutrients. Teabags contain some, but limited amounts of nutrients. perfect!
So far, I’ve planted cucumber ‘La Diva’ and sweet pepper ‘California Wonder’ seeds that I bought from Wilko. Here they are on Day One!
Seed germination using spent and waste materials from my home.
I note here that it is a good idea to understand your plant seed’s germination requirements and tolerances before you embark on this method.
Here’s how I did it in 7 simple steps:
Keep teabags in fridge after use and bring to room temperature before planting seeds in them.
Line transparent plastic container with absorbent paper and wet with water. Ideally the plastic container should have holes in its base to allow run off of excess water. If you don’t want wet counter tops and window sills, you may need to sit your hole-riddled plastic container in a tray to collect water that drains out. Good drainage is important for preventing rotting - of both the seed and the seedling.
Place teabags side by side on absorbent paper and slit a small hole in each. Teabags may be lain flat or standing, like upright sacks (I used both forms). Ensure teabags contents are damp. Wet with water if necessary.
Introduce a seed or two into each bag via the slit, and press in lightly. You may also use the dampened contents of another teabag to cover the seed if you want to.
Cover the plastic container with transparent cling film, leaving a small gap to encourage the flow of air. The aim of covering is to create an incubation chamber that allows you to control moisture levels and (to a lesser extent) temperature. Alternatives to cling film include placing the entire container in a transparent plastic bag (with holes in), and inverting a larger plastic container with a few holes in over the container containing your seeded teabags. I keep mentioning holes because good air flow is necessary for the prevention of fungal diseases which may kill off your seedlings.
Keep at ambient temperature (varies by plant) in a location that receives natural light, but away from strong sunlight). In the UK, the home environment during winter is normally sufficiently high for many vegetable and seed plants to germinate. Always make sure you understand your plant’s seed germination requirements before you start. Many commonly grown garden seeds require moist but not waterlogged medium so you’ll need to keep an eye on moisture levels and adjust accordingly.
Watch and wait! Give emergent seedlings time to establish themselves and begin to develop a good root system (you may see some roots pressing against the teabag casing) before you transfer to a larger container of peat-free medium, and grow them on. When ‘growing on’, transparent covers will not normally be necessary for many commonly grown plant seedlings. Keep any eye on moisture levels, watering the soil and not the seedling leaves. The home environment can be drying. Well established seedlings may then be transplanted to their final growing positions, whether it be a container or open ground.
And that’s it! Et voila!
Now, I may be being just a little premature with the ‘Et voila!’ bit … My fellow gardeners will know that there are many reasons why my experiment could fail. I‘ll try not to dwell on them too much though. Therefore, by the powers that are vested within me to choose to think positively, I hope to be able to say ‘Et voila!’ again in a few weeks’ time, when I should have at least ONE cucumber and ONE sweet pepper seedling to show you!
