If you are wondering why we are posting this image with nothing growing, well, it is because that is exactly what is going on – Nothing, nada. You may recall an image of papalo seed we posted back on April 21st here. For the past two-and-a-half weeks we’ve been keeping an eye on our flats for some signs of life, however, the lack of activity sparked our curiosity, which led to some research.
After trying out some tips we gleaned from other gardeners posts – including moving trays from the outdoor potting shed to a more stable environment indoors, putting a heat mat, adding grow lights and sifting the soil, we still saw no progress.
This week, something happened. My husband randomly pointed out the amount of moisture the trays were retaining. He also noticed they felt much heavier than the previous round of trays we seeded. This led him to question the seed starting mix. After a more careful look at the bag, guess what? Instead of using seed starting mix, we used potting soil. 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♂️ While some of our seedlings made it (zinnia, sunflower, squash, oregano, chamomile, Denver daisy, peppers, cilantro), others didn’t (papalo, pipicha, dahlia).
This was an absolute fail for us but we will turn our failures into #lessonslearned. We are not in denial about the learning curve we face and recognize we will face some setbacks. At the end of the day, mistakes are proof you are trying right?
