Learning the family names of the various plants i want to grow is something I'd like to do over the coming months. Apparently they change fairly regularly, and there are sub families and all sorts of other quite complicated links so it's going to be an interesting path.
Yesterday we went through the seed bank at school and discarded the seeds that were past their viability dates.
Each of us had a family to find the seed packs for, and I had Solanaceae. Solanaceae is also known as the nightshade family. It includes potatoes, capsicum, tomatoes, eggplant, chilli, as well as datura, paprika, tobacco and belladonna.
We then took the viable seeds to the nursery and made up potting mix for seedlings, as it's the first quarter and time to sow seeds.
The soil we used was made up of 3 buckets of potting mix, 1 bucket of compost and some sand-like product that i think came from basalt.
The compost and potting mix were sifted first into a large bucket, then mixed together and then scooped into seedling pots. We then used our fingers to dip a hole in each punnet and placed a seed in each hole. After covering the seed with more soil, we used the bottom of another punnet to press the soil down.
It's vital that enough nutrients are present in the early stage of growth, as it sets the plant up for being healthy and strong.
Seedlings need to be watered twice a day.
A record of my journey as i spend what promises to be a wonderfully rich and diverse year immersed in permaculture studies at Djanbung Gardens in Nimbin, NSW... I am really learning how to LIVE and thrive while creating a harmonious, sustainable and self sufficient lifestyle for my family, our community, and our planet... step by step.
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