A Story - "Pop Quiz" and New Seed Starting Set-up

A Story

Pop Quiz

Dr. Masters greeted Debra with a smile, but her eyes were wary.  The appointment would be straightforward.  A clear diagnosis and simple treatment were being reviewed.  Why did this older woman make her squirm?

Debra waited for the doctor to start the conversation.  She nodded her head and agreed that she had looked up her condition on the Internet.

Dr. Masters felt like she was back in high school facing a pop quiz.  But she was the doctor, she was the one who had studied medicine and had years of experience.  Was that a look of skepticism when she mentioned the dosage of medication?  A quick pivot, and she thought she saw a softening in Debra's face.

The appointment was over.  Debra smiled and thanked the doctor.

Dr. Masters took a deep breath as she left the examination room.  She felt that she had barely squeaked through the test.

 

My son gave me a new seed starting set-up. It's pretty cool and well designed.

I really like the flexible cells. The upper rim and bottom are firm but the middle is rubbery. It will make popping out the seedlings super easy.

There is a water reservoir in the bottom. A plastic stand supports a black felt wicking mat that soaks up water and keeps the cells moist. I found it kept a very steady level of moisture in the soil. I also like the fact that the dome is quite high so air circulation is good. I use rainwater or melted snow for my new plants as our untreated well water is very hard and the treated water has salt from the water softener.

I only planted 4 pepper plants in this tray and they have sprouted now.  I kept the tray about 4' away from our propane heater so that it would stay warm. Yesterday, I planted some tomatoes in the empty cells. I remembered to label them.

The set-up comes with LED lighting built into the green cover plate.  The light  has a USB cable that I have plugged into a small external battery pack I have. The green cover plate swivels so you can close the holes or open them for more air circulation. I have kept the holes open and the soil has still stayed evenly moist.

I think this set-up would work  very well for starting flowers that often take a little longer to get going.

I will have to transplant the peppers and tomatoes after a few weeks into larger pots.

This is the box it came in.  It was bought from Amazon. It doesn't have a company name on it.