Gardening with Galligan: Rushing the season …
The weather has been overall appalling. So far, spring borders on the disastrous. But no matter the degree to which you’re really itching to start growing something, under no circumstances succumb to the idea of starting seeds indoors. Unless you’re an experienced pro and own all the equipment needed, your chances of success are minimal. And the opportunities for frustration abound. Not only do you need all kinds of equipment such as heat pads, grow lights and more, but constant attention is required.
One website I visited last week suggested attaching grow lights to the ceiling by a pulley system, thereby enabling you to continually move the lights as your seedlings grow taller, always maintaining an exact four inch space between the lights and the seedlings. Are you serious? What do we do with the “pulley system” the rest of the year? Hang Christmas balls from it in December? Take it down in July? And who repairs the ceiling? Who are these people?
Watering presents significant difficulties as well. Both too much and too little water are deadly. What makes watering so problematic is that the seedlings themselves are so delicate; authorities recommend keeping the seed-starting medium “damp, but not wet.” There’s a challenge for you.
After many unsuccessful seed attempts, this year I’m sticking to bulbs, they are so much easier to handle. I love caladia and ordered a bunch with my shady balcony in mind. This month is the perfect time to begin and you can easily order the bulbs online (or ask a grandchild to do it for you). Use six-inch pots and fill them to within four inches from the rim. Then water the soil thoroughly, and wait for the water to drain completely.
Put the caladium tuber on top of the soil with the bumpy side facing up. Gently press the bulb into the soil, then add more soil until the top of the tuber is roughly two inches below the soil surface. And water again and then water only when the top half-inch of soil feels dry to the touch. The tuber should begin to grow in approximately three weeks.
Place the pot(s) in a room where the temperature is roughly 70 degrees or slightly higher with bright but indirect light. Apply a soluble fertilizer with a 1-1-1 ratio and follow the directions on the package, it’ll most likely advise to wait to fertilize until it begins to sprout. Then fertilize weekly until you move the caladia outdoors. But wait until all danger of frost has passed and the average daily temperature is above 70 degrees. Before planting them in a partially shaded bed, keep the pots in a protected area to allow them to adjust to the change in surroundings. This will also allow you to move them back inside if you’ve made a mistake. Or if the weather gods turn evil.
There are other tasks that can help you feel like spring is actually coming. I know you didn’t put your planting basket away neatly but indeed left it inside the garage somewhere the last time you used it. Go find it, bring it to the kitchen and give it a good going-over, putting all the implements through a dishwasher cycle. I paint the handles of my trowels red, because I can never find them as I move around unless I do.
Then build a fire, pour a glass of wine, sit down and put your feet up, inactivity isn’t all that bad. Or maybe the sun has finally come out and the wind has stopped. As I write neither of those hoped for events have yet taken place.
