Ready, set, TRANSPLANT!

In my last post I announced the transplant of my first seedlings (yes!). In this entry, I want to share my experience in starting the seeds and caring for the seedlings, the lessons learned, as well as hands-on tips and practical advice to guide you through transplanting the seedlings.

Starting Seeds - An Introduction

Starting plants from seed is an exciting pursuit for any aspiring gardener. Whether you choose to grow food crops as a healthy supplement to your kitchen, or ornamental varieties to compliment your display, that - usually quite impatient - wait that starts the moment you bury the seed will more often than not be rewarded by the magic of a seedling emerging from soil.
This week, I have started a number of seeds.

In this entry, I write a general introduction about what you need to consider when starting your own seeds. I will be following up with detailed posts and factsheets about each of the crops and varieties I have started. Currently, the focus of these posts will be on container gardening.

Mixing Potting Soil - The Basics

In previous posts, I talked about mixing my potting soil. In general, plants you purchase from typical roadside and riverside nurseries in Cairo will be potted in the dark rich clay soil. Clay soil possesses some properties that make it a superior farming medium: it is highly fertile and is more resistant to erosion than sand and silt soils.

However, clay soil also also possesses other properties that make it less suitable or desirable as a container plant growing medium: it is considerably heavy, and will become too firm when dry (the timeless image of Egypt's unchanging farmer ever plowing the dark land comes to mind). In this post, I describe the basic ingredients to mixing potting soil and their function in the mixture.