Hey Folks:
So the second round of onions is growing well.The seed starting medium is formulated to be very light and able to retain moisture effectively.
This is good for getting the seed to germinate.
However, the medium very low in nutrients.
The seedlings are going to require a heavier soil to continue growing, a soil rich in compost.
Moving the sprouts into richer soil is 'promoting', to use a bit of market gardening jargon.
Each of onion sprouts are teased out of the soil in the seed tray and grouped into bundles of five.
At transplant time, the bundles of five will be planted in a bunch.
One will inevitably fail, one will probably be too small, and three will be successful enough for delivery.
This is a very delicate process. Gripping the sprouts too much will bruise them, removing them too quickly will break off the root.
After the tray fills up, it is returned to the nursery, into a slightly cooler shelf - the sprouts don't need the extra heat provided by the propagation mat.
A little bit of field soil is added to the soil mix. This introduces the plants to the microbial life of our growing field (which is absent or different from the microbes present in the commercial seedling mix).
A small detail, but these are small plants...
Green plants are inefficient at taking up micro nutrients. Fungi is very efficient at this activity, having evolved to take up all of it's nutrients by direct absorption.
Fungi, in turn, is very inefficient at consuming carbohydrates, which the plants synthesize from sunlight and water.
Fungi and plants work symbiotically to resolve their own inefficiencies. Fungus mycelium in the soil pierce plant roots and exchange some micro nutrients for carbohydrates.
The theory is that by introducing some of these microbes from the soil into the seedling growing medium, the plants will be better able to start taking up micro nutrients right away, both in the nursery and in the field. As well, the plant will already have some "familiarity" of the field fungus and other organisms not present in the growing mix.
Like I said, a very small detail, but then again, this is about micro nutrients.
Not everyone makes the team. The onions that look unhealthy or break during promotion are sent to the compost, to become next year's food.A tasty treat for all the mold in there.
In other news, the eggplants were started today.
In the coming few days, the first parsley and green onions will get the go ahead, and I'll be debating whether it is too soon to start the peppers.
Talk to you soon,
Bob