Alyssum in bloom

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It's December 1st and most of the little tiny alyssum plants are starting to bloom now. I would say that this little guy here is almost the size that you would find in a six-pack at Walmart or Home Depot. Since a six-pack costs about two dollars, he is worth 33 cents. Since it took over two months and a lot of TLC to get it to this point, it really doesn't seem that economical. But it was fun - and I have learned a lot.

It turns out that there is a lot more to growing flowers from seed than just getting little plastic cells and dropping the seeds into the potting soil. In reality it takes two steps to get them sprouted and then safely into the ground - first the general sowing, and then pricking them out and growing them on in larger containers. I missed the second step and just put them out at the size of tiny weeds - not very attractive in the garden! They really shouldn't go out until they are at least this size. Not only does putting them out at *tiny weed size* look bad, it really isn't good for the plants, either.

So, when I do this again next year, I will start earlier, and be sure to grow the plants on to a larger size before putting them in the garden. They really should have been at this size at the beginning of November! This means that I need to start sowing by mid August, get them growing on in larger pots by October, and then in the ground in early November. I have seen biodegradable pots, and hopefully I will remember to get some next year.

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