Gardening - Seed Starting

The other day we started some seeds as an after school project with my girls.  We are lucky this year as this project didn’t cost us a dime.  My mother cleaned out her greenhouse last fall and we were the recipients of her overflow items.  Including a drip irrigation system – For Dummies!  I am pretty excited about that.  When it comes to growing things I fall right in that category. 

While purging the garage this year I came across a shoe box full of seed packets.  I’m hoping they are still good.  We’ll find out.  Most of the seed packets only cost about a dollar, originally.  So if I need to buy new ones in a week or so it won’t be too expensive. 

We started out by writing on the outside of each pot with a Sharpie marker so we would know what was planted.  Then we filled them about 2/3 with soil, added the seeds, topped off the soil and gave them a good drink of water.  I used an old baking pan and a drip plate from a flower pot to put them on for the time being. 

So far we have planted: 

·         Pickling Cucumbers

·         Yellow Summer Squash

·         Zucchini

·         Sugar Pumpkins

·         Dill

·         Basil

·         Cilantro

·         Parsley

·         Chives 

We’ll keep them outside on the porch as long as the warm weather holds and bring them inside if it gets colder.  The key for me will be to keep them watered without drowning them. 

Since I am getting a late start this year I plan to purchase Roma tomato and bell pepper plants at the store with one of my gift cards.  We will also be planting lettuce, corn, carrots, beets and green onions directly into the ground. 

Mother gave me one of those strawberry pots for my front porch.  I’m turning it into an herb garden.  I put some broken bricks in the bottom for drainage and filled it up with Miracle Gro Potting Mix.  Once the herbs we planted in the peat pots are ready I’ll be planting them in there.  I am excited about having a pretty and also very useful pot of plants on my front porch this summer. 

I usually do my planting the weekend of Mother’s Day.  By then the frost risk is usually past and the weather is warm enough.  In the meantime I am going to get my beds ready and figure out my drip system.  It appears pretty straight forward.