Starting seeds indoors

It may still be cold and snowy, but now is the time when I start planting my seeds indoors for the garden.  I've been starting seeds indoors for years, and generally have been pretty successful.  I started my lettuce a little earlier than usual this year, but I want to plant it outside sooner than I usually do.  I have row covers for frost protection, so they should be OK if I put them outside in March.  I also started my sweet Bell Pepper and my Eggplant seeds this week.  They take longer to mature and produce vegetables, so I want to get them started as soon as possible.  They won't go outside until May, maybe late April if I have enough Kozy Coats. You fill the tubes with water, which warms in the sun.  The plant stays nice and cozy warm, even when the temperature outside drops.
This year I'm starting some of my seeds using the bottom of paper egg cartons.  I filled each cell with seed starting mix and set the entire thing in a basin af warm water.  The carton and seed starting mix soak up as much water as they need.  Then I put the carton in a dry basin, add the seeds, and cover lightly with more starting mix.  When it needs water I just add water to the basin and it's soaked up as needed.  That way I don't disturb the seeds.
 
Once the roots start to grow through the bottom of the cups it's easy to separate each cup and plant the whole thing in a larger pot.  This way you don't have to disturb the delicate roots.  This year I'm using a spare closet for my plants.  The florescent plant light hangs on the curtain rod and I've set it up so I can use the entire closet to grow my plants.  The lettuce is doing quite well.  I moved it into larger pots after about two week.  I'm using plastic yogurt cups which I washed thoroughly.  It's very important to keep everything clean if you want to keep your seedlings healthy.  Now all the lettuce should be fine until I'm ready to plant it outdoors.  And by the time I do get it outside it should be strong enough to handle the weather.
 
So this is how my garden gets started.  And this really helps me get through the last month or two of winter!  I like to take care of my little plants and enjoy their fresh green colors and scents.  Plus it's SO much cheaper to start your own seeds than it is to buy plants at a nursery.  Buying seeds rather than plants allows me to plant a wider variety of vegetables, without blowing my budget.  Stay tuned to watch my little green seedlings turn into full grown plants full of delicious vegetables! =)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

gardening

Well, it's another lovely spring day in NE Ohio-NOT! It's cold, drizzly, and generally miserable. However, my poor peppers and eggplants are getting too big for their containers and really need to spread their roots, so I figured I'd better get them planted in the garden. Actually, when I first went outside the sun was shining and it was almost comfortable. Halfway through planting the clouds moved in and the rain started. I've lived here long enough to be used to it though, and I know how to protect my newly planted veggies from the vagaries of our unpredictable weather. I use Wall 'O Waters for my tomatoes and cover everything else with milk jugs with the bottoms cut off. Both methods have proved quite successful.
I start all my plants from seed indoors under fluorescent lights. For one thing seeds are a lot cheaper than plants, plus you can find a much larger variety of seeds than you can plants at the nursery. Clean containers and good seed starting mix are very important for successful germination and disease free growth of the seedlings. This year I'm planting tomatoes (cherry, Roma, and yellow), sweet bell peppers (mixed colors), eggplant, yellow bush beans, zucchini, yellow squash, acorn squash, butternut squash, basil, cucumbers, cantaloupe, garlic, chives, and oregano. I make some delicious spaghetti sauce with all my fresh veggies. Plus you can freeze extra tomatoes for use later in the year. Last year I got a food dehydrator very cheap at a garage sale, so I was able to dry my herbs and some of my veggies. I also grow catnip for my fuzzies (and the neighborhood cats as well). Cats go nuts for fresh catnip!
I've been slowly but surely hardening off my veggies to get them used to the changes in temperature, wind, and light that they'll have to deal with outside. I start off putting them in a sheltered location for an hour or so the first few days, then gradually increase their time outdoors, and their exposure to sun and wind. It also makes the plants much stronger. Sometimes I'll have a fan blowing on them when they're indoors. This helps to strengthen their stems. Believe me, it works, especially with tomatoes. So far I've got my basil, peppers, beans, and eggplants planted in the garden. Tomorrow I'll plant my tomatoes. I'll probably wait a few more days to plant my cukes, cantaloupe, and summer squash. They like warmer weather. Plus they've still got a little more room in their current containers, so they'll be OK. It's supposed to get much warmer by the end of the week anyway.
Well, that's my gardening tale for the day. Now I'm off to do some cooking for Gramma. She really appreciates my garden as well. She's always had fresh veggies with her meals. I'll try to keep you all updated on my gardening progress. Hopefully I'll have a good season. Last year wasn't so hot. Bad weather (3 separate hail storms!) and critters (voles and deer mostly) really took a toll on my harvest.