A Seed Starting Autogarden

Every year I try to step up my game and get a little better at starting seeds.  Last year I bought a small grow light kit for my closet.  This year I bought another one and started two trays in there.  This is a big step up for me, but nothing like the gargantuan leap of the snazzy seed starting autogarden designed by my friend Dr. Duncan Bell, who has his own brilliant blog here.

Knowing of the seed saving and starting mania that I am possessed by this time of year (I collect and buy a LOT of seeds!), Duncan kindly made one level of his autogarden available to me.  I'm doing a small experiment, which I'll talk about in another post, but first I want to tell you how the autogarden works.  The secret is wicks!

Trays are made from downspouts that measure 18" long and 3" wide.  Seven holes are drilled in the bottom of each tray.








The holes are threaded with wicks cut from microfiber dishcloths.

Once filled with soil and seeded, the trays are placed directly on top of another set of wicks that carry water up from a reservoir below.  The reservoir is filled by tubes fed by plastic bottles hung above the trays.

A floating element made from foam and weather stripping controls the flow of water through a hollowed-out disposable pen into the reservoir.

This system of piping, tubes and wicks does a fantastic job keeping the soil in perfectly moist condition.

Now awaiting little leaves!

Other posts about Autogardens.
More From Dr. Duncan Bell
A Self-Watering Autogarden
Dr. Bell's Autogardens Blog

Seeds in the Closet

My first tray of seeds was started under grow lights in my closet this weekend.  I just looked back at my old seed-starting posts --  I've never managed to get any seeds in during the month of January before!  I'm still waiting for my seed orders from this year to arrive, so I started with "old" seeds that were either saved or leftover from last year.  I'm hoping that this is only the first of several trays that I'll be starting in the next few weeks. Here's what went in:

Lettuce "Salad Bowl Blend" - Botanical Interests
Parsley "Italian Gigante" - Burpee
Cleome (saved from swap with community gardener Robin)
Zinnia (saved)
Cilantro (saved)
Savoy Cabbage (Baker Creek)

I used this "Pro Mix"
It contains 75% to 85% peat moss, Perlite, Limestone and "wetting agent"(wonder what that is!)







Are you starting any seeds indoors this year? I'd love to know what you're growing.

Older posts about seeds:
Seedling Experiment
Making a Seed Starter From Recyclables

Plant Geek Paradise: West Tisbury, MA

People in Martha's Vineyard take their gardening seriously.  Though many don't go beyond climbing roses and hydrangea, others treat it like a competive sport.  It's obvious that gardens here are carefully thought out, often coordinated with the colors of the house itself. 


I expected Hansel and Gretel to appear at any moment.

During one of our confused, lost exploratory drives around the island, my friend Emilie and I discovered that one road in particular, West Tisbury Road, was full of garden centers.   Emilie made other plans, so I was free to explore without the guilt of boring her.

I started at Eden Market, in Vineyard Haven.  Although smaller than the others, it was fun to poke around.  A winding path took me through sections of garden decor, watergardens, perennial flowers and vegetables. 

The staff was super friendly and happy to point out which plants were heat tolerant as well as some really cool new kinds of echinacea.

 I shared a moment with this frog.

Heather Gardens



 My next stop was Heather Gardens.  This place had astounding variety and acres of plants.  I could have stayed there all day.  Props to the extra-nice owner Mike, who kindly took the time to dig up a (free!) hops root for me because they didn't carry them and he knew it was growing wild by one of the fences.  



"Galahad" delphinium.  On my wish list.

It was fun to stroll around, looking at the unusual plants and making notations for my wish list.   There was really too much to look at here. 

Middletown Nursery

Middletown Nursery had some incredible displays.  I was especially inspired by some rustic cages and trellises made from raw (pine?) that were placed throughout the store.  

A live band was playing in a shady area while kids did art projects and ate popcorn - such a nice vibe.

I know I missed at least one other garden center, but leaving something unseen is supposed to guarantee a return visit.

Eden Market
455 State Road
Vineyard Haven, MA
(508) 693- 5202
http://www.edenmv.com/

Heather Gardens
377 State Road
West Tisbury, MA  02575
info@heather-gardens.com
http://www.heather-gardens.com/

Middletown Nursery and Garden Center
680 State Road
West Tisbury, MA
508-696-02575

West Tisbury on Dwellable

More from Dr. Duncan Bell

Remember my friend who has the solar-powered, automatically-watered vegetables on raised platforms on his plot in our community garden? (If not, see my post of July 29.)   He started a blog about his gardening projects!  Among Dr. Duncan Bell’s other gardens are a spectacular patio flower bed planted in recycled containers, and watered via a timer attached to a toilet (see above), a basement seed-starter under fluorescent lights also watered via gravity and capillary action, a second vertical vegetable plot in his side yard, and another plot at his former offices that features vines . 

When he’s not gardening, he’s running the shows over at Elmwood Playhouse or working on robotics projects.  Looking forward to following his adventures!

Speaking of adventures, how did you survive the hurricanes? 

Dr. Duncan Bell's AutoGardens

A Self-Watering AutoGarden

One plot in our community garden is attracting a lot of attention.  It’s a raised, solar powered, self-watering “AutoGarden” designed by Dr. Duncan Bell, a veteran gardener who is about to retire from his day job as head of Biomedical Engineering at Pfizer/Wyeth.  Using his Ph.D. in botany and his background as a robot designer, he designed the system to be a cross between hydroponics and container gardening.   

Dr. Bell has been experimenting with automatic watering systems for awhile, developing his own models.  An early prototype consisted of a system using his toilet tank, an electric pump, and a timer to water his containers though a tray placed underneath them.  This method used low pressure, had no leaks, and only ran for 15 minutes a day.  

During a 6-month relocation to California last summer, he began thinking about the water lifter designed by the Greek philosopher/scientist Archimedes (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC), and wondered if he could design a system that used this method of lifting water rather than a pump. 



Solar-powered panel

He assembled his own using a swimming pool noodle, table saw, PVC pipe, salvage DC motor and duct tape. Whenever the sun is shining, a solar powered panel switches the lifter on.   To move the water, the pipe turns slowly,  picking up droplets of water from a storage tank as it turns. 



The water drips  onto a series of terrycloths placed on top of a waterproof surface, but under the plant containers. 

As the towels and containers get saturated, the water runs elsewhere, to a lower rack.  Finally, after saturating the lowest rack, the water runs into a storage tank.

In addition to being outside the grasp of groundhogs and rabbits, the raised trays make the garden more accessible to people who might have trouble bending over, or people in wheelchairs.  



From the looks of it, Dr. Bell's harvest will be beautiful and abundant.  Because the plants aren't competing for water, they're able to be grown much closer together, increasing his yields.

Have you ever used a self-watering gadget in your garden?

Flower Show Recap

Don't you love the color of these orchids?

The Garden Club of Nyack held it's 18th annual Flower Show on Saturday.  Both adult and child gardeners were able to enter in several horticulture and design categories, and for the first time this year, there was a photography division.  Last year, I really enjoyed clerking for Jeanne, who was the chief judge for the design division. This year, I clerked for the children's judges Joanne and Celia.  I also served as an entry clerk for both the children and adult divisions, helping the exhibitors categorize and display their entries. (I even worked up the courage to submit a few entries of my own this year - and have included them in this post.)

There were so many outstanding submissions this year - it was hard to pick a few favorites, and I was limited by a dead camera battery that forced me to take most of these photos on my phone.

The "invitational" category, which is unique every year, asked that the exhibitors create a place setting for a celebration.  I liked the more formal entries best- this one celebrating spring, and another for a garden wedding.  

There were lots of great entries in the children's divison.  Classrooms at Upper Nyack school, and my group of afterschool gardeners at Valley Cottage were among the groups submitting.

This was the entry from our class -- it won second place!

This class had their seeds "race" to the finish line!

More entries from the kindergarten classes.

I loved this pasta herb garden, planted in a colander, and mulched with real pasta!

This gorgeous and heartfelt tribute to a gardener who passed away won "Best in Show" in the children's  category. 

This colorful flower cart won the People's Choice award in the children's division.

Here's one of the recycled soda bottle planters we did in our afterschool gardening class.  The idea for this project came from Mike Lieberman's Urban Organic Gardener site.  It won a second place!

Another one of our group submissions, a gourd grown from seed in our school greenhouse, placed first. 

Richard's tribute to the people of Japan won "Best in Show" for the Adult Horticulture Division.  It was accented with handmade origami cranes.

Here's my little dish garden, which was inspired by my facebook friend Helen Yoest, who has been posting photos of some amazing creations from Moss and Stone Gardens. 

Unfortunately the handles prevented this from qualifying in the the miniature category, so it went into a separate division called "other plant designs," and won a second place.  (I also learned that some varieties of moss are endangered in New York State, and because of this, moss may not be allowed in future shows.) 

A spectacular succulent that we had some trouble identifying. 

Here's an unusual and creative egg arrangement that won a first in the miniature category.  I love the way edibles, including chili pepper and asparagus, were used in this arrangement.

I tried to duplicate last year's daffodil bouquet, but not all of the varieties I used then were in bloom yet, so I supplemented with pussy willow and forsythia.

It got a first place in the forced branches category.

Isn't this an amazing Christmas Cactus in bloom?  It comes from the owner of one of our favorite restaurants, the Golden Mushroom.

There was a good turnout for the photos.   I entered a photo of an allium in the first stages of bloom, and got an honorable mention.  Congrats to Phoebe Farrell, who took home a first place ribbon for her tulip photo in the children's photo division!

Don't miss the Garden Club of Nyack's plant sale on May 22!