START YOUR GARDEN WITHOUT GOING OUTSIDE IT’S TIME TO GARDEN!
Spring has “sprung,” and if you’re someone who cannot wait to get your plants into the ground, you may be counting down the days until it’s time.
windows in your home, you’re in luck! Point your seedlings in that direction, so they can soak up as much light as possible. Be mindful of how cold it is, too. Seeds need a lot of heat and sun, so your windows may not be enough. If that’s the case, opt for fluorescent lighting — standard incandescent lighting won’t be enough — and hang the lights just a few inches above the seeds. Keep them on for 15 hours each day and allow the seeds to get some rest at night. FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE. Much like a newborn, seeds need a lot of balance. Too much water will cause them to drown, and if they don’t get enough fertilizer, they may not sprout. Finding that balance takes practice, but there are a few basics to keep in mind. First, have a small fan running for an extended period of time each day. This will prevent excess moisture. Then, establish a liquid fertilizer schedule. Once per week is usually best.
However, you don’t have to wait for the perfect weather to start your garden. In fact, the best time to plant your seeds is 6–8 weeks before the last frost. (So, you might be behind already!) If you start now by creating your own “greenhouse,” you can cultivate a stronger garden that’s prime for a big harvest. PLANT SEEDS LIKE A PRO. Thankfully, gardening experts have invented tools that can “hack” gardening for novices of all kinds. Look for seed trays, which will have small pockets where
you can plant your seeds, and find trays with small holes at the bottom. This will allow excess water to flow out of
the seedling’s new habitat so it doesn’t drown. Review the instructions on the back of each seed packet to determine soil depth, a watering schedule, and soil types.
Once the weather gets warmer, start introducing your new plants to the outside world. This transitory time should take just over one week to avoid shocking them.
LOOK FOR AND CREATE NATURAL LIGHT. Once your seeds are in their new pods, you need a light source! If you have a south-facing garage with windows or south-facing
For more gardening tips, be sure to visit your local nursery. Happy growing!
A 10 OUT OF 10
Wayne’s Experience at Eye Plastic Associates
Throughout his life, Wayne has known a lot of doctors. That’s not only from personal ailments — before his retirement, he was a personal injury attorney specializing in medical malpractice. Of all the physicians and surgeons he’s known, he says Dr. Scott “is one of the best.”
going to happen from the beginning,” Wayne says. “He said, ‘You’re going to feel this’ or ‘I’m going to stitch up that section there.’” When it came to the recovery, he adds, “I didn’t really notice it. I did what he said, and everything turned out okay.” Wayne is a Marine veteran who served during the late 60s and early 70s. After leaving the service, he became a lawyer in Washington D.C., where he practiced medical malpractice law and became a senior partner at his firm. Wayne enjoys spending time with his wife and playing golf. Though he stopped playing tennis a few years ago, he’s quite accomplished. “We went to nationals five times,” he says. He’s also a bit of a bookworm, having read about 20 books on the Revolutionary War, and more recently switching to tomes on the cosmos and the universe. “It’s really interesting,” he says. “You can’t believe there are things like this in the world. There are particles that can be in two places at once!” If Wayne needs additional eyelid surgery, he vows to return to Dr. Scott for the work. “On a scale of 1–10, I think they’d get a 10,” he says. “They were perfect, and everything was top-notch.”
Wayne was referred to Dr. Scott by his ophthalmologist. He had an entropion, a condition that caused one of his lower eyelids to turn inward. Entropions can be painful, but Wayne’s case luckily was not. Still, he didn’t care for the appearance and hoped Dr. Scott could help. Dr. Scott performed the surgery in his office with Wayne under local anesthesia. Seeing the surgery happen may sound scary to some, but it was reassuring to Wayne. “I consider it the best way to have surgery, so you know what’s going on,” he says. “It’s better than just guessing.”
Throughout the surgery, Dr. Scott remained attentive and communicative. “He told me everything that was
2 EyePlasticMD.com
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