Gifts and good memories are usually what we have left after Christmas comes and goes. Are there gifts that make you feel like a child again? That's how I felt after finding this small present under the Christmas tree this year.
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Santa must have heard me this year when I was getting excited about the idea of growing trees, ideally a forest! He brought me this little tin box with a spruce grow kit inside which put a big curious smile on my face.
My fascination started over the summer when I noticed a tiny maple tree growing in a flower box pot I had along with my other plant.
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I eventually moved it to a different pot and collected few more during the summer. They became a part of my cozy outside home post.
Now, they are bigger and stronger and will hopefully survive the winter...here they are, covered in the snow.
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This is the very same tree. I'm waiting for the spring to see its leaves sprout and reach the one-year-old mark. I must educate myself how to keep them alive so they can eventually start the forest on my future property. Transplanting them may not be easy and I don't quite know where to locate my forest yet.
As for my Christmas Spruce (Picea abies) grow kit, I made sure to carefully read the instructions. They are not necessarily very encouraging as the germination chances are 75%... well I have faith. There were 6 seeds inside (apparently from Spain), a growing pellet and the tin will be used as a pot to grow my trees in.
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The steps to follow are:
Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours
Dissolve the growing medium with water, fluff with fork and place it in the tin
Sow the seeds 1/4" deep and cover with the growing medium
Keep it moist in a bright, warm location with ample air circulation
Once the second set of needles appears use fertilizer.
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The second time I had my child like smile when I was working with the medium dissolving it in the water with the fork. When putting the seeds in, I was thinking that 1-2 months is a very long time for the germination. This is going to be such a lesson in patience and discipline to take care of them. I'm looking forward to it.
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This will be a little bit of a miracle how these tiny seeds might possibly grow to be big trees. It's not a couple of months but years for this to happen.
After the work is done, I pray for sun because that's what my seeds need now!
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