The Learning Garden

View of the garden.

So why my sudden veggie garden mania? I signed up for the the Plant Propagation class at UCLA extension over the Xmas holidays. The course began in January and ends next week. Classes are held Sunday afternoons at The Learning Garden at Venice High School. The vibe is laid back, but instructive, and I like my teacher (David King). Most of the students are in the UCLA horticulture certificate program. I think I may be one of the few non-credit students.

I signed up for the class originally so I could learn to propagate my flowering perennials, but by the middle of the class I realized that I really wanted to have veggie garden beds similar to the ones at the garden. The Learning Garden is really an edible wonderland. I highly recommend a visit to anyone who likes planting edibles (and who lives on the westside).

We started out sowing seeds-- first in flats, then in the ground-- and transplanting seedlings. Then we graduated to cuttings (stem, leaf) and then finally grafting (shield, side, saddle). One of the highlights of the class was our field trip to the Huntington (another post to come).

So you add this all up and it's made me into a wannabe small scale farmer. I'm just starting out-- my kitchen is full of flats right now-- but my fingers are crossed. I'll post progress pictures.


Another view.


Wedge cuts on begonia leaves.


Golden Dorset apple scion grafted on EMLA 26 rootstock.


Seedlings.

Sowing the Seeds

Some of my packets. Aren't they pretty?

I waited with bated breath for my 14 seed packets to arrive from Peaceful Valley. They came yesterday in an ordinary yellow bubble envelope. I spent a good hour last night planning how many seeds of each I would sow and where I would place them in my veggie garden.

The best thing about springing our clocks forward is that I have daylight hours to sow seeds after work. Wait, did I just say that? If you'd asked me 5 years ago (or even 5 months ago) whether I would ever have a veggie garden I would've laughed out loud. Now, I'm planning my day around it. I hope this isn't just a phase because I think this small scale farming thing could be good for me. Mentally and physically.

Anyhoo, I spent the remaining light of day after I got home today sitting on my patio, sowing tomatoes, Spanish lavender, and all sorts of lettuce. I'll post pictures soon.

Oh, Oh, It's Magic

My Luscious Brandywines-- this morning (top) and this evening (bottom). Reach!

Today was a big day for me. The biggest of all in my short gardening life.

I woke up this morning to find that my tomatoes had germinated! I sowed them last weekend (Feb 22nd ) in some cottage cheese containers and milk cartons. I watered them every other day and left them in the bay window in the kitchen (north facing) throughout the week. The seed packet said that it would take about 7-14 days to germinate-- in my case, it took 8 days.

I can't tell you how thrilling it was to see sprouts, like little threads curling up. I immediately moved them to a south facing window for the day, so they could get some heat (it was 80+ degrees today) and extra TLC. Sure enough, by the end of the day, they had straightened and more had sprouted.