How to get Old or Hard to Germinate Seeds to Sprout

A few years ago, I had some new hot cherry pepper seeds that would not sprout. I found this tip on the internet and it works great!

1. Boil a pot of water for at least 10 minutes to sterilize the water
2. Cover the pot and let it cool
3. Place the seeds in a piece of cheesecloth (I double it) and tie it at the top, making a little bag
4. Mix 1 Cup of the sterilized water & 1/4 Cup Chlorine Bleach
5. Swirl the seed bag around in the mixture for 10 minutes
6. Remove the bag and swirl it in a fresh cup of sterilized water for about 1 minute to rinse
7. Repeat the rinsing step 6 times in fresh sterilized water

This treatment will kill bacteria and fungal spores that may have contaminated the seeds. Then pre-sprout or sow your seeds as usual.

Pre-sprouting Seeds

I have been pre-sprouting my Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant, Cabbage. Broccoli & Cauliflower seeds for a few years now. I used to just put them in seed starting mix and wait. I have found that pre-sprouting is much more efficient, especially when you only have a couple of seeds of a particular variety. It also eliminates the thinning step.


It's very easy to do. Just take a damp (not wet) piece of paper towel, put the seeds on it (wrapping or folding the paper towel over them) and either place it in an unsealed plastic bag or small plastic container. Don't forget to mark the bag or container with the variety of seed! Then place the seeds in a warm spot, about 70 degrees is good. I put mine on top of the radiator covers. The seeds will sprout in a few days. You need to check them at least once a day to make sure they aren't dried out.

Once the seeds are sprouted, carefully put them in a soil less mixture in a pot. You need to handle them gently to insure you don't damage the root. I use a pair of tweezers and gently grab them by the root. I usually take a piece of paper towel with the root. 

Gently place the little sproutling in the soil.

Cover with the soil less mixture. 

If the sproutling is big enough, I leave a little green sticking out.

Then I mark the pot and cover with some plastic wrap. They are then placed on the germinating table under the lights in the basement. Once the little sproutlings get big enough, I uncover them.

Harvest Monday............03/05/2012

I had a couple of harvests the past two weeks. This is a re-run of my last Harvest Monday post. I harvested a small amount of spinach for 'The Italian's" BD dinner last Sunday, February 26th.

The spinach harvest was about 3 oz.

 It was just enough to stuff the flank steak which I posted about on Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard.

The remaining Tatsoi in the cold frame was harvested on Wednesday. The Tatsoi was starting to bolt, even the smaller heads.

"Miss Banana" is checking it out. You know how those nosy cats can be!

The Tatsoi weighed in at 45.5 oz.

After the Tatsoi was harvested, I removed the tops from both cold frames. I also turned off the lighting, which I had on a timer to give the plants 2 extra hours of light during the winter. This will give the cold frames some fresh air and exposure to some colder temps. Hopefully, this will help take care of some of the bugs in there. I will also give them a good dose of DE this week.

Hop on over to Daphne's Dandelions our host of Harvest Monday to see what's going on in Veggie Gardens around the globe!!

My Seed Stash

Since Granny and Ed have showed off their seed stash and storage.....I thought I would show you mine. Here's how I store my 220+ varieties of seeds.

All of the seeds are kept in this large container with a lid.

I keep all of them separated in different categories. I also keep my seed mats, toilet paper, glue, pre-sprouting containers and little homemade envelopes in this container.

Unlike Granny's Chinese take-out, ours comes in these great storage containers with lids. I also use these to grow veggies with shallow roots......don't tell "The Italian" he thinks that everything he can't find is being used for the garden! I have no idea where he got that idea :)

So how do the rest of you "Seedaholics" store your seeds?????

Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard..........3/01/2012

I woke up this morning and realized it was Thursday and I hadn't done a post for Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard! Boy the week and the month just flew by! I can't believe that is March already. Before we know it the gardening season in this part of the world, will be under way! Then there will be lots goodness going in the cupboard too!

I found a great recipe a couple of months ago for a Stuffed Flank Steak here. It is supposed to be rolled. But, one flank steak makes three meals for "The Italian" and I. 1/3 is used for regular marinated broiled flank steak. 1/3 is used for a stir fry and the remaining 1/3, I have been stuffing. We love this recipe so much that I made a whole one for il secondo at "The Italian's" Birthday dinner this past Sunday. Yes, the Italian has reached "the speed limit age"!

Stuffed Flank Steak
Ingredients:

• One Flank Steak
• 1/4 Cup Soy Sauce (We use the good stuff from the Asian grocery store. It really makes a big difference in the taste. You can actually find labeled non GMO food at these stores!)
• 1/2 Cup Olive Oil
• 2 tsp. Steak Seasoning or a combination of seasonings of your choice
• Thinly Sliced Provolone Cheese
• Sliced Bacon
• Fresh Spinach
• Mushrooms (one time I used them)
• Sliced Bell Pepper 

This is just 1/3 of a whole Flank Steak

Directions:

1. If you are using a whole flank steak, cut through the meat horizontally to within about an inch or so of the opposite side. If you are using a piece, you will have to cut it the opposite way to create a pocket. You can also have your butcher butterfly it for you.
2. Mix the Soy Sauce, Olive Oil & Seasonings together. Then marinate the steak with this mixture. You are supposed to marinate it for 4 hours or overnight. I have made it after only marinating it for about 30 minutes and it was great!
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
4. Layer the Provolone Cheese, Bacon, Spinach, Mushrooms & Pepper inside the pocket.
5. Roll the meat (if you can) and then tie it with kitchen twine about every 2" to keep it together.
6. Place in a baking dish and pour what ever marinade you have left over the meat and bake..
7. The directions say to bake for one hour. I have found that with a small piece it only takes about 15-20 minutes. When I made a whole one it baked for about 30-35 minutes. We do not like out meat well done and dried out.
8. Let the meat rest for about 5-10 minutes, slice and serve

This is the best Stuffed Flank Steak ever!

I served it with Mashed Cauliflower. If you have never had it...you don't know what you are missing! Just cook some nice cauliflower. Place it in your food processor (or you can mash it with a mixer or by hand), add some Butter, Adobe or other seasonings like garlic, Cheese of your choice and a little milk, if needed and mash. I like Mashed Cauliflower much better then Mashed Potatoes. It is also much better for you and a great way to get the little ones to eat more veggies! They will never know it's good for them!

So, What goodies have been going in or out of your Kitchen Cupboard Lately????