Seedlings

February 20th I planted my first seeds for the garden. Now, before my Mom totally freaks out... they were in the basement in seed trays. Broccoli and cabbage seeds, hopefully started early enough that we will have plants ready to transplant by early April. Five days later the broccoli sprouted and the cabbage weren't far behind. There's a lot of work ahead, but the early gardening season is always full of excitement and promise!

Lots of systems work for starting seed. Mine involves placing small plastic trays inside a plastic bag. The bag seals in moisture and heat and seems to work really well for reliable sprouting. Once the seeds have sprouted, I transfer them to individual pots. I used to use peat pots, but they were expensive. So two years ago I switched to making pots out of newspaper. They work great! Easy to make and still biodegradable, which means less stress for the plants during transplanting. All of my trays are placed on a stand Brian made years ago that has a combination of grow lights and florescent lights, which are on a timer. The plants stay in the basement (at about 60 degrees) for a while and when they are ready, I transfer them to a cold frame outside. Last year I had so many pepper plants that I had to put them outside earlier than usual. It actually was the best they've ever done, so I will be trying that again. To protect the ones that wouldn't fit in the cold frame, I used Rubbermaid containers with lids. I took the lids off during the day, but sealed them up at night.

Since I am not starting all kinds of peppers this year, I am trying some perennials again. I have had varying degrees of success with them, so I am only cautiously optimistic. But I started Cherry Brandy rudbeckia, regular Black Eyed Susan rudbeckia, and purple coneflowers on Saturday. I had Black Eyed Susan envy after seeing my sister's and my sister-in-law's beds last year, and I'm really excited about this new Cherry Brandy variety.

The Cherry Brandy seed tray in a plastic bag. This was taken on planting day, so there's no humidity yet, but within 24 hours, the area above the tray will be completely fogged up with condensation, my sign that I put enough water in the tray. It's a delicate balance to get enough, but not too much.

Broccoli seedlings one week after sowing the seed.