Kitchen Scraps to Garden Treasure - Easy Plant Propagation

Starting plants from leftover scraps

Springtime and fellow gardeners are getting excited about planting seedlings. Seed starting is a key activity. This year I'm excited to be planting food scraps. Yes, there are a number of foods that you can grow from kitchen scraps. That's pretty great. The next best thing to buying local is not buying at all. Is this food recycling? It's nice to always have a home-grown supply of these items on my kitchen window sill or garden.  While it saves a little bit of money - it is also easy and fun! Kids that come over find it amazing.

To facilitate the process I use a plastic container from Costco apples. These little impressions are the perfect place to put the root end of celery, carrots, lettuce. Take a look at how this all works with examples of specific veggies. 

Here's my list herbs and veggies that I've (tried to) regrow from the scraps. Others listed at the bottom can be grown from seeds - but that's another story :)

Cactus Propagation from Stem Cuttings

Never touch the cactus -
no fail method to propagate

Cactus can be straight forward to propagate and you can do it without injury from spines. The trickiest part is making sure you don't get poked in the process!  Here are my tips for getting more of your favorite cactus. This is a good late fall or winter activity for many cactus are not actively growing now. 

Make a Cutting:

First you need to get a piece of the parent plant. For this you need just two tools. Best way to do this is to cut the stem with a very sharp knife. I tend to use a serrated knife work - like a bread knife, which has just come out of the wash and I know it's clean and sterile. This will helps limit risk of bacterial diseases.  The second tool that you need is my secret weapon for

Dividing Potted Succulents

Repot Me PLEASE!!!

Several years ago I started this succulent (I believe a Gasteria) from a cutting received at the Huntington Garden.  It is a very slow growing plant - so just this spring I decided to divide and repot it. This is a clump-forming succulent plant, so as soon as the container is "full" the plants are clearly outgrowing their assigned space and need to be divided. It's similar for aloe, some sedums, agave, hens & chicks, and the like. For most succulents Spring and early summer are the best times to divide since it's before their growing season. However, there are succulents who's main growing season is winter - so double check before you proceed. 

Here's my approach for dividing and repotting succulents

Transplanting Large succulents: Christmas Cactus

My Great Grandmother's Christmas Cactus,
ready for repotting

I have been graced to own my great grandmothers Christmas cactus.  I tell myself that it’s over 100 years old – but I have no idea of its age, only it’s provenance. As a mature succulent, it needs to be transplanted periodicaly without increasing the post size. Most cacti and succulents do best in pots that are quite small in proportion to the size of their top growth, my Christmas Cactus is no exception.  The plant grows over 8-10 inches over the soil top, and a 18 inches wider all around the container. It’s already so big and heavy – there is no need to increase the container size. If you have a smaller succulent, when you decide to repot them, move up one size larger than the one they are in. always use plenty of drainage material in the bottom of the pot.  Leaving succulents in small containers works  - they may dwarf and slow in growth.

How do I know when it’s time to repot my succulent?

Failing health - time to repot! 

I have a few general rules I use to determine when to repot my succulents. You know it's time:

When roots come out the bottom of the pot. 

When the succulent start to pup (Put off new growth at the base)

When growth slows down or plant health fails

When if flowers off cycle

When you have to water much more  frequently 

My poor Christmas Cactus was off color, not holding water, and blooming off cycle. So unhappy and screaming for a new pot and some TLC!

Propagating Herbs - get more for less!

If you have a mature herb plant, multiply the joy and get more plants from the one you already have.  One way is with seeds - but I find collecting seeds challenging so I use cuttings, division, and layering to get more for less.   also included below some photos of very inspirational herb gardens!

Here are the recommended techniques for some common herbs. 

Source: thecafesucrefarine.com

• Basil (Ocimum basilicum) – stems will sprout roots in water. See the photo of sprouting basil. Check out this post for easy steps. 
• Bay  - take semi-ripe cuttings in late summer or early autumn. Divide suckers in spring. 
• Chives  - Divide bulb clumps in spring or autumn.
• Lavender - take softwood cuttings.
• Marjoram  - Take softwood cuttings in summer or divide in spring.
• Mint - Take softwood cuttings in summer. Rhizome cuttings in spring. Divide in spring.
• Oregano - Take softwood cuttings.
• Rosemary  - Take semi-ripe cuttings in late summer or heel cuttings in spring. Can be layered or mound-layered in summer.
• Sage  - Take heel cuttings or softwood cuttings in early summer. Layer after flowering. Mound layering in spring.
• French tarragon - Underground runners for root cuttings taken in spring. Divide mature plants every two to three years in spring
• Thyme  - Take softwood cuttings in late spring or summer. Simple layering in early autumn. Mound layering in spring.

Below is more of description of each of the techniques mentioned above. 

Sedum Propagation - Spring check-in

Last fall I blogged about easy ways to propagate sedum perrenials.  This is one of my more populat blogs. I hope you all are having success with the techniques I described.

I'm placing here the results of the direct placement and controlled grown cuttings you see in the prior blog.  Just a few months inside or our in the wintery cold - and the sedums are popping back to life!

Direct Set Sedum Cuttings - after over wintering

The cuttings to the right were simply snipped from the host plant and plunged into the dirt. I did not use rooting hormones or any treatments. Neither did I check on or water these cuttings. Here you can see in early April just a few months later, a) the old stalk which just looks like a stick, and b) the sprouts of new sedum plants are peeking out. Of the handful I propped in this manner, about 60% are growing. That's acceptalbe to me.






Controlled Growth Sedum Cuttings

Here on the left hand side are the cuttings that I placed into small pots and kept inside for the winter. These were placed in a cool room and did not have much sunlight. Further, I pretty much ignore them, watering more in the springtime.  You can see that as in the case with the direct set cuttings above, the original stalk has died away giving it's energy to the new plants which sprout from the roots below dirt. The controlled growth cuttings are a bit larger since they were warmer and more gently treated. If I had placed them in a better environment inside - they would probably be even larger.

Anyway you go - it's a fast and easy way to create more plants for no cost. These go into my guerilla garden this weekend!

Happy Day!

Teresa Marie

Seed Planting and Starting: That time of year

This morning I purchased seeds for this year. I went mostly flowers because a Master Gardener friend in Wisconsin is growing all vegetables and we are going to split up the plants! So excited about this. It does put some pressure on me be successful.

My prior seed starting efforts included clayless seed bombs (prior post here) as well as some home-made seed starting trays (post here)  This year I will again make up the seed bombs as they worked so well in the guerrilla garden. However, I am adding commercial seed trays because of the volume of seeds I am starting this year.

Potting Station from old Bakers Rack

Here is where the work begins - my seed starting / potting station.  This is an old bakers rack that I sourced off CraigsList for ~$50, then added the wood/plastic tops to create work surfaces. My thought was to have it inside in the wintertime and then outside in the summertime. In reality, it stays inside all the time and I use it all year round.  I love this space and have tried to make it as productive and efficient as possible. It holds potting mix in containers, seeds, small pots, and hanging are bottles of various herbicides. Also holds pre-mixed fertilizer, root hormone, and other chemicals in different storage containers. On the right side you can see the pots with Sedums that I directly placed a few moths ago. They continue to do well and will head out into the garden in a few months.  I'm starting to lay out the seeds for the season as well as to accumulate some of the recycle materials I use as pots. The bottom of milk cartons will work well for the ginger root or cannas. Yogurt containers are just like little pots - just put holes in the bottom.  This is pretty messy now :) but not as much as it will be shortly!!



My selections of seeds for this year and plan for starting them are:

Flowers to start in trays:  I will start these around March 10th (6-8 weeks before last frost) assuming that our last frost will actually be earlier this year (Damn Climate change)

• Echinacea, Warm Summer US7,982,110 - Exceptional 1st -yr flowering cone-flower from seed.
• Coleus, Chocolate Covered Cherry  Non-fading bald pattern for sun and shade.
• Coleus, Giant Leaf Mix - Mix of texture and color
• Asclepias, Butterfly Weed- Prolific bloomer. My white butterfly bush needs friends ;)
• Carnation, Giant Mix - My grandmother used to grow carnations, let's see if I can too!
• Tradescantia, Blue & Gold - Wildflower is easy to grow, I liked the vibrant golden foliage with gentian-blue flowers which will be a good match to the purple ones I already have
• Red Hot Poker - so hope these take, I love the Shock & Awe drama this brings to the garden
• Blue Flax - interesting for the border
• Holly Hock - a deep purple almost black color to mix with the pink ones I have already.
• Wing Begonias - these seeds are 2 years old, they are last priority to start in trays.

Flower Seeds to start in seed bombs:  My seed mix this year will be mostly new Shasta Daisy seeds but I will make two batches mixed with other seeds. One batch will include a few packs of old "Garden Flower Mix Perennials" these seem to be taller flowers of many colors. I will place these carefully in the north-most edge of the guerrilla garden where they will be full sun.  The second batch will be the Shasta Daisy mixed with old "Moss Rose" seeds. These will go to the front edge of the rock garden where Shasta Daisy took from seed bombs a few years ago.  I will make these up and place them in the garden approximately April 15th.

Vegetables to Direct Sow: To be completed approximately May 1st - once I get the vegetable garden roto-tilled and plan made (that's next on my list!) Might add some more veggie seeds/plants depending on what my girlfriend has for me.

• Chinese Cabbage, Pak Choi, Toy Choi Hybid; it grows fast so I will make several staggered plantings to enjoy over a longer period of time.
• On the Deck Sweet Corn - this is going to be the architectural element in my large containers this year!

While on gardening sites, I found this little piece of technology that I just "had to have" - the Suncalc sunlight calculator.  While I roughly know the amount of sun each side of my garden gets, it will be interesting to measure it throughout the season and within a few feet across the garden. I have many trees and sometime just a few inches makes a great deal of different in whether a plant thrives or dies. 

This morning I'm singing "Come Rain or Come Shine" by Barbra :)

Teresa Marie

Recycled Cast Paper Ornaments or Cards (or seed bomb)

Molds and Cast Paper Results

When I go to craft fairs or high end paper shops, I am drawn to the hand cast paper items. To me it evokes the Victorian age which I so enjoy. Hence, over time I've developed my own technique to create home-made cast paper ornaments or cards from 100% recycled materials - in a fast and easy way! The batch that I have shown here I am using for Valentine Cards and hang-tags on teacher gifts.

One thing I enjoy doing is marrying my crafty side with my gardening side. I do this by adding seeds into the cast paper items and encourage recipients to plant them! The cast paper tags become seed bombs. When using seeds, be be careful to not leave the casting wet too long to keep the seeds from germinating. Also don't heat it up too much to dry it to avoid reducing the seed viability. Here's my prior blog on seed bombs BTW.

Take a look at this approach and let me know of any tips for enhancing the process or the outcome! I've included lots of pictures to help see how this works.




Recycle Materials Needed:

• Old papers from the recycle (newsprint, white paper, junk mail, etc.) Note that the color of the cast paper will be drawn from what goes in - so if you want white, put in WHITE. My ornaments almost always come out shades of grey or blue because I am indifferent at this point.
• Dryer Lint - yup, no need  to buy cotton linter. Been there done that - and the felt from the dryer works just fine for me. (If you want really permanent decorative pieces you might want to consider purchasing, because lint will be multi-colored and textured which may not be suitable for your needs)
• Water - lots of it :)
• Optional: Spent Tea leaves or coffee grounds (provide antique look when using 100% white paper)



Raw Materials for Recycled Cast Paper Ornaments,
Gift Tags or Seed Bombs

• Optional: Last years or left over seeds! Keep it to very small ones like poppy seeds.Or if larger hand place them in the mold (See the directions below)

Utensils / Tools Needed:

• Blender (a strong one!)
• Strainer
• Cookie or candy mold (I like use Brown Bag Cookie Art by Hill Design) Those with deeper impressions will work somewhat better
• PAM spray
• Sponge and/or towels
• Other: Rolling Pin, drying rack, oven, microwave

OK here is my tried and true process!
Steps to Make the Casting:
1. Rip up the paper into small pieces
2. Fill the blender with water - about half full. You need lots of water to get you slurry moving. All the paper needs to absorb water and float.
3. Add the paper in batches and blend until at least oatmeal like consistency. Be careful not to add too much paper at once because the blades will jam.

Pulp and hands on water removal.

4. Empty the contents of the blender into a sieve and squeeze out as much water as possible. See in my picture above my batch looks really disgusting - both in color and texture.

5. Spray the cookie mold with Pam - very generously. 

6. If you are adding seeds, mix them into the pulp at this step if they are small seeds.

7. Take a handful at a time and firmly press into the cookie mold. Continue the process until the mold is filled edge to edge and slightly over the top. Over-mounding is fine. I find that the thicker you make the pulp - the stronger the pressed result. I never go over the top edge of the mold, and I never go much thinner than 3/4 full.

8. Take your sponge or towel and press the wet pulp in order to continue to remove water. You will  need to wring out frequently.

9. I like to take the last step a rolling pin to make sure that the surface is as flat as possible. 

Press into mold firmly, and flip onto cookie sheet

10. If you are using larger seeds, you can press them into the surface at this point and then roll again to keep a flat surface. Do not leave the seeds on the top too much, they may have issues in the oven or microwave.

11. Next - FLIP your wet casting onto a Pam'd cookie sheet (or plate). Yup, don't wait for them to dry in the mold. They can be extremely difficult to come out when fully dried (because I don't buy specific release agents perhaps.) Plus when I start this project I like to make ornaments in volume which is not possible if you only have one mold working at a time. If you have removed the water, this should be easy. With the mold resting upside down, gently start with one edge and slowly lift until the paper releases itself. Do not pry or pull the wet pulp/casting out of the mold. If it comes apart you can try to push it back together on the tray - or just add a bit of water and start from step 6 again. 

12. Now the pulp needs to dry fully. There are several options.  I tend to oven dry and then microwave (I tend to be a bit impatient to get the first one done to start coloring.) OK you can dry by:

• Air dry - will be at least overnight if not several days. Care needs to be taken that the casting does not also mold, or if you have added seeds that they do not germinate. When they are dry enough to handle, move them to a wire rack so that there is airflow on both sides. 
• Oven Dry - pop the cookie sheet into an oven at about 125-150F (51-65), you can go as high as 225F (107C) but may get some discoloration.   Keep an eye of these as the edges will dry first and may burn. It will take several hours - but that depends on how much water you took out in the steps above. When you can handle them, I like to put the wire rack under them to improve airflow while in the oven. 
• Microwave - I zap a plate with one card on it for a few minutes at a time. When possible to handle, flip over. 

In the picture at the right you can see the varying shades and drying process. I will keep pulping and molding until I run out of counter space and/or oven space. If the ornaments are not completely dry - they will curl over time. So take care with this step.

To finish off your masterpiece you may choose to paint them or spray them with a varnish or other finish.  I usually put down one coat of varnish and then use Sharpie markers to complete and coloring. The paper can be very porous so paint colors might come out a bit strange. Kids can have lots of fun with the decorating process (they also love the mushing out the water part!)  You can embellish with sequins, glitter, and more. 

If you are making an ornament or gift tag, a hole can be made by punching through an ice pick, using a leather punch, or even a Phillips Head screw driver. Make the hole well into the thicker part of the design. Also When you tie the ribbon/cord (or here Raffia), knot it directly above the ornament and then make the loop beyond that. This way the swinging or rubbing of the cord is against itself rather than against the fragile paper edge.

With smaller castings, they can be placed onto card stock and used to make interesting greeting cards. You could also place them onto fabrics and then into an old frame for Victorian-esk artwork.

Happy Crafting;

Teresa Marie

Easy Propagation of Sedum Perrenials

If you love sedum - you can easily multiply your plants!

Easily Propagate Sedum Perennials

Showy sedum such as Autumn Joy, Autumn Fire Stonecrop,  'Postman's Pride', variegated foliage on "Frosty Morn",  'Brilliant', which has bright pink petals; and 'Stardust', which has silvery-pink flowers, can be used in containers, as ground cover, in rock gardens, borders and given as gifts!  

I bought my first showy sedum at the garden center. Debating the purchase price which was it something like $10-25/each! I brought one home and then discovered just how easy it is to propagate. Now take cutting from neighbors, trading for other plants, and using sedums in a variety of guerrilla garden projects. Showy Sedums are succulents - so the same principles apply from my prior post on propagating succulents  

In my cold climate garden, showy sedums are 18-24 inches tall, blooming in midsummer through autumn.  They require little maintenance and are fairly pest resistant. The old foliage/stems make good winter interest. The showy sedums die to the ground in winter then sprout back from its tuberous roots in spring.  

I've event taught preschoolers how to propagate sedum.  You can do it!  There are three propagation techniques which work well:

1. Immersion
2. Controlled Pot Growth
3. Direct Garden Placement
4. Division

In techniques 1- 3 you will need to take a cutting from a healthy sedum plant. I generally take a single stem of the subject sedum and cut it back to the ground. I can then cut this into 3-4 smaller pieces for propagation if desired.  No need to worry about using only the tip portion, although others will say to take only the soft tips of the sedum for propagation.  BTW many of these techniques also work really well on herbs. 

1. IMMERSION TECHNIQUE: 

Sedum in water to force rooting

This technique requires a bit of a longer cutting.  I tend to take a piece which is 6 inches long. 

Remove leaves from the lower portion of the cutting - these would be submerged and could rot. 

Take the pieces of Autumn Joy you have prepared for propagation and place them in a cup or glass that is filled with water. Make sure that only the sedum stem in in the water ( no leaves.) 

Then place the glass in a warm spot with lots of light. 

Autumn Joy Rooting in Water 

Do not let the water dry out completely, and change it every few days.  In a weeks time your cutting will begin to root, and will sprout new growth.  Take a look at the pictures below.  You can keep the sedums in water for some time, eventually you should transplant outside. They can go into the ground, even in August-October. I try to put at least three of these little sprouts together. Once you do this, keep a good supply of water until the roots are established in the garden soil. I try to water every other day for 10-12 days.

2. CONTROLLED POT GROWTH (Cuttings): 

Usually late in the summer I remember that I wanted to propagate more sedum.  I prepare the stems by cutting rather long sections ~ 6 inches and remove the leaves from the lower 3 inches.  Next I place regular potting soil with about 10% perlite into small pots. Place the sedum cutting into the pots.  

Sedum propagation from cuttings

Take care that there are no leaves buried into the soil.   Water the sedums periodically (they have dried out sometimes without ill-effect.)    

The original stem cutting will die back and new shoots will appear at the base of the plant  (see the little shoots at the right?)  

Keeping the sedum potted indoors all winter (in your in a cold climate).  If you place them outside in late fall, the tender shoots will die and not return.  Sometimes, while held indoors, the sedum shoots may die back all the way. Not to worry, in springtime they sprout back.  Watering in the winter should be only to keep the soil from getting rock hard - too much water will rot the baby plants/roots.

If you start cuttings in pots early enough in the summer, you should be able to place them directly in the garden after the shoots take off. If not, just see them come up in the pots in the spring and then place them outside. 




3. DIRECT GARDEN PLACEMENT (Cuttings)

This technique is as easy as it sounds. It is best conducted in late Spring or Early Summer. Prepare the stems as previously described in cutting section above.  Prepare a space in the garden by lightening up the soil with some peat moss and maybe a little potting soil. 

Then take each stem and directly place it into the garden where you want the new plant to grow. I like to keep 5-6 inches of the stem viable and above ground, with 3 nodes below ground.  See picture on left below, the stick is the sedum, it's fall so there's not much color there. Water if there has not been any rain.  The roots will form and new growth will begin at the ground level.  The original stem may-or may-not survive.  Over a few years you will get a nice clump of new sedum (see picture on right below)

Note - if you try this technique late in the season the stem may root, but not put up new growth until springtime. A light pull on the sedum stem you placed in the ground, if met with any resistance, indicates that there are roots.

Autumn Joy stems in soil for Propagation

Two years later - nice new stand of sedum

4. DIVISION:   The last technique, as with many perennials  is to divide well established clumps into smaller groups and replant them. 

Sedums are found in North America (including Greenland), South America, Asia, Europe and Africa.  Showy sedums are native to China and Korea.  The popular 'Autumn Joy' (S.'Herbstfreude') hybrid has large, alternate leaves and blooms late in the season with large, pinkish-bronze flower clusters.  The esteemed British  Royal Horticultural Society gave 'Autumn Joy' sedum an Award of Garden Merit. I guess then we all wanted it!  Given how easy it is to propagate them - I hope you share your joy with friends! 

If you are in Chicagoland - email me for some cuttings to start your own sedums.

Happy Gardening!

Teresa Marie

PS check this more recent blog update to see how the cuttings grew over a few month period

Propagating Succulents

One aspect that I appreciate about succulents is just how easy it is to propagate them! My friends get to share in the fruit of my labors (or enable my addiction!)  I have decades old jade, christmas cactus, and pencil tree cactus that were all started from cuttings.

There are a variety of propagation techniques - cuttings, leaf starts and offsets. Each of these is described below

Seed Starting - an experiment

This time of year I think serious gardeners have all started up this years prize annuals and perennials from seed.  I have typically not been one of those folks.

I really hate starting plants from seed - and probably because of that, I'm terrible at it. I've never invested the time to get it right. This year I tried two new things - one was the seed bomb that I recently posted about. The other was starting seeds indoors.

Even after making seed bombs, I still had plenty of old sees around to use for this little experiment.  Plus you know I didn't want to invest in any special trays or pots for my seed starting - so I used leftover plastic from take-out and frozen food containers and similar sources. Reuse, recycle and repurpose!  I took items that were exactly the same size and punched holes in one tray, then nested them together.  These are pretty shallow - but I think for seeds that isn't an issue.

Then I sifted some potting soil to create a very fine "seed starting" mix.  In the bottom of the containers I did put in a small layer of regular potting soil, then topped it with my mix.  Next I placed the seeds and then covered with another layer of the mix - per instructions on the packets.  I made sure they were all moist and happy, covered them with plastic to retain the moisture, and then set back to watch the magic happen. Every few days I add water in between the two plastic containers to keep them all moist.

5-10 days later and I do have a few seedlings appearing.  Here you can see some decorative grass starting.  This perennial grass costs over $50 a container at the store.  If I can get this going - it will have only cost me a few dollars!

A girlfriend came over last night (a real seed starter!) and shared some tips to improve my success. First off I need to continue to maintain the moisture - so that there is always condensate on the inside of the plastic. Secondly the trays need more light and heat.  So I have to work on that.

Nonetheless - I'm calling it a success for now, I have some little plants growing. Whoo Hoo! 

Meanwhile - I'm making a list of the plant sales that I want to hit in the next few weeks!

Clayless Seed Bomb - (Updated 2/24/13)

I first heard the term "seed bomb" while attending a presentation on guerrilla gardening at the Chicago Botanic Garden a few months ago.  It was then that I realized I'd been a Guerrilla Gardener for several years - and even been fined for it as well.

The term was originally "seed grenade" coined by Liz Christy when she started the "Green Guerrillas" in New York City. The first seed grenades were condoms filled with wildflower seeds, water and fertilizer. This was the start of the guerrilla gardening movement in the early 1970's.  Current "seed bombs" typically use clay as a binder to keep the seeds protected from being eaten prior to germination.

For years I have tossed seeds into the lot across from my house in hopes that something wonderful would take root. I've even transplanted a few perennials over there to have at least some bright spot! However, this morning, when I found several packets of old seeds - I thought why not try a few bombs!

The recipe I used did not include clay, as I didn't want to run to the store first. Plus, there are lots of good substitutes for clay, after all it is just a filler. So a creative and frugal approach was born. The clayless seed bomb!  I've also made cast paper seed bombs that I use as gift tags and ornaments. Different recipe, but still easy. That blog post is here. 

Here is what I came up with for recipe and process using items which you have in your kitchen already:
In a large bowl, mix

- 1 1/2 cups of flour and 8 - 10 TBS corn starch 

-  Place seeds into flour and mix. Observe distribution of seeds to estimate amount of soil to add 1/2 to 1 cup of water  & mix into a smooth paste or dough.

- Gradually add 1/4--cup of vegetable oil

- Knead the dough until it develops a firm consistency.

- Sift about 3 cups of potting soil and add into mix (Easy method, just dump it in, but then you'll need to work it more to get is smooth.) 

- Continue to knead to spread seeds and get to desired consistency. 

- Pull of pieces and roll into balls or logs – can add more soil as needed.

Here is a picture of my resulting seed bombs. I did make them rather small.  I had lots of seeds to use and because of the high seed density I made them smaller. Just in case they all germinate - I didn't want too much crowding.  Also since I will be hand placing them I thought I could go with a smaller size.

OK, I'm off to change clothes and then bomb the lot across the street!

Happy Sunday!

T

PS I updated this recipe. In subsequent trials with the seed bombs I used more corn starch and sifted the soil mix to have only the finest grains. This helped make more homogeneous dough.  I also add the seeds into the flour first. This way I can see how many there might be in a clump. If I use more than 2-3 packs of seems I will add more dirt, but with only 1 pack of seeds maybe just a dusting.