Anyone who has ever planted seeds before is familiar with the vague directions printed on the back of the package. "Sow 1/4 inch deep, spacing 6-8 inches apart. Harvest in 65 days." The package might as well say, "Put in dirt. See what happens." And that is what I am doing. I am taking the directions the supplier gives merely as suggestions. "Plant 18 inches apart." 18 inches?! That is so much space. How about 12 inches? I am sure that there is a reason they suggest 18 inches (each plant needs more room to spread out, competing for resources, etc.), but I am trying to maximize my space.
A few posts ago I reported on the seeds I had planted. Well, due to my impatience, I planted more seeds inside about a week ago. Realistically, I still have at least four weeks before I can plant any of these little plant babies outside. My thought was that if I started them early, then they would be big and strong once I was ready to plant them outside. One thing I did not count on, however, was how quickly some of them would grow. My miniature greenhouse has a plastic lid to keep heat and water in. Within one week of being planted, the bean plants have become so tall and so strong that they were literally lifting the lid off the greenhouse. All of a sudden the story of Jack and the Beanstalk came back to me, and it all made sense. Those weren't "magic beans!" Jack simply started them inside in a small greenhouse way before he should have.
These latest seeds that I have planted have far surpassed the previous ones both in speed and strength. Seriously, not only are these bean plants as big around as a drinking straw, but they emerged from the soil two days ago and are already nearly three inches tall. The laundry room may soon become known as the jungle.
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