Do NOT bake potting soil in your oven

...soil is clearly meant to stay outside in the yard. I stuck to my crazy seed recipe which called for me to bake it in the oven at 450 for an HOUR which I grudgingly did yesterday. I lined cake pans (top and bottom) with foil and stuck it in there. This supposedly kills all the bacteria so my little seeds can germinate. I would have rather just dumped a bottle of lysol on the soil, but I'm sticking to the plan.


Amazingly, it only took about 5 minutes for it to completely cool but be warned this does not smell like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

So after my culinary experimentation with soil I continued on with the steps. I removed the seeds from the dark closet which they were hiding in for 24 hours and filled my peat pots. These little things are like cardboard plant starters. I filled them up 3/4 with my freshly cooked soil and then placed 2-3 seeds (oops more like 5-7) in each pot. Then I dumped my seed starter liquid (re: Science Experiment Part 1) which consisted of the tea, Listerine, dish soap, and water, to saturate the soil. Next fill up the last 1/4 of the pot with more soil and mist each with the liquid seed starter. I then placed all 24 peat pots in a big 2 1/2 gallon bag to create a "micro climate". This is seriously turning into some Albert Einstein World Award of Science project...I think I'll start on my acceptance speech now . Anyways, I now am to further neglect my seeds by leaving them in a dark closet for 5-7 days only allowing fresh air into the bag once a day. By the 7th day I'm supposed to have 1-2 inch stalks grow out of each pot. Then begins a whole new process...leaving them under a grow light for 12 hours a day, in a warm climate for 3-4 WEEKS. Oh, and of course misting them daily with the seed starter liquid which precariously sits in our second refrigerator looking more and more like beer or sweet tea than some gardening mystery drink. Note to self: clearly mark container to avoid any beverage mishaps.


My saturated peat pots. I marked them all with a pen so I don't get the vegetables mixed up. Too bad I didn't realize when cardboard gets wet it's nearly impossible to see any labeling done via black pen. One of my many daily Aggie moments...

So now we must painstakingly wait, on pins and needles, for 5-7 days to elapse and my seeds to start to grow until I can begin the next step. Whatever shall I do with my life as I wait?....oh yeah, work.

In other news I've started a new diet...the GI diet, in order to try to get my whacked out hormones in check. It basically consists of lots of fruits, vegetables, and very little sugar since I'm apparently insulin resistant. Going to the dr at the end of the month to try and get a referral to an endocrinologist. Will see how it all goes.

I'm remembering all those who died today 8 years ago. I still remember sitting in my 9th grade geometry class hearing we were under attack. I can't believe it's been 8 years...God bless the people of NYC and those who fight for our freedoms every day.