Planting Gelled Chia Seeds -- An Experiment

After the holidays, my local Walgreen's had a sale on Chia Pets that I just couldn't refuse. I purchased a chia garden gnome.

Gnome-seeding completed, I was left with a dish full of gelled chia seeds, and nowhere to put them. (Don't pour them down the drain. I read that they can sprout in there and cause plumbing issues.)

I searched the internet to learn the correct way to plant chia in soil. There is no shortage of articles about planting chia seed, but each one that I came upon suggested planting dry seed, and what I had was a bowl of chia gel sitting on my kitchen counter. Common sense says that once the seeds get moist in the soil, they'll form their little gel coating, so I decided to sow some and see what happens.

I used the same method that I would use if the seeds were dry. I'm not going to share planting instructions here because there is already more than enough information out there on the web, written by folks with way more experience than myself. However, I'm willing to Google it for you:
Let me Google that for you!

It is my guess that these guys will germinate just as well, if not more quickly, than if I had planted them dry. After all, we sometimes soak tomato seeds and pepper seeds prior to planting. Why not chia? I'll update here as soon as I have some results to report.

Hardening Off Seedlings Started Indoors

Today was absolutely beautiful outside. It's my great hope that we'll have Spring now, but one can never be too confident with Georgia weather. After all, it was snowing yesterday morning!

In my pure giddiness due to the lovely weather, I eagerly brought out all my seedlings so that they could experience real sunshine! I set them up in a nice sunny spot on top of the old Jeep that we need to sell for scrap.

A few hours later, after having mulched several raised beds, I was concerned that the hood of the Jeep might be getting too hot for the tender seedlings, so I moved them to the grass. I left them on their own there until the sun started to go down, then I moved everyone back indoors.

Upon examination, I had lost three seedlings to improper hardening off. They had endured to much sunshine too quickly.

I really should have known better, as I have made this mistake in the past. However, I feel fortunate that only 3 of 30 cups didn't make it. Some of them had been put in the sun previously for small amounts of time, like during my lunch hour from 12 to 1:00 on days when it was sunny. I did not keep track of which ones went out and which ones didn't, but I'd be willing to bet that these three pitiful ones had never been outside before.

Here are the others, who had a much better experience in the sun.

Especially proud of basil, bottom left, more basil thoughts soon. 

Moral of the story:  There is a reason why experienced gardeners suggest careful hardening off of delicate seedlings. Even though warm weather and sunshine is incredibly exciting after what seems like a billion months of winter, small doses is the way to go.

 

Welcome to My Garden!

I'm glad to see you here!

My name is Holly, and I garden for fun in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. 

At the top of Stone Mountain

This will be my fifth season of gardening, mostly in raised beds and in containers. I'm no expert, but I learn a little more each year about what works for me and what doesn't. I'm excited to share my gardening experience with you as it happens-- glowing successes as well as dismal failures. 

In front of the law office where I work

I love to talk with and learn from other gardeners! Please feel welcome and encouraged to comment on any of my posts.