Spring is on the way, well winter never really got here. Regardless, the gardener is rested and now it's time to start growing the vegetable & herb seeds. In years past, I've grown my seeds & plants in the sunroom but an unnamed 4-year-old has taken over that space. I'm headed down to the basement this year.
Without any natural light in this section of the basement, I needed to build a seed cart. After cleaning out the garage & raiding the depths of my basement I found everything I needed to construct a 3 shelf seed growing station. To be honest - I conceptualized, my darling husband constructed!
The seed cart is made of: a 3-tiered shelf unit, (amazon) 2 grow lights, (amazon) 1 dismantled aerogarden lamp, 3 seed-tray heat mats, (amazon) 4 Park Seed Bio-domes, (Park Seed) 160 peat pot sponges, (Park Seed) 1 timer, 1 surge-protector outlet strip, (amazon) 4 bungee cords & a handful of zip-ties.
It may look hodge podge, but I'm getting fantastic results! And - I didnt spend the $300+ a pre-fab seed cart costs. The items purchased this year - power-strip, peat pot sponges, and seeds.
What to grow? Over the last few years, I've saved the seeds from the plants that I harvest, notably from my marigolds. It saves money, makes a great gift, and is a seed with proven results. But....it is impossible to avoid buying seeds. Around New Years my mailbox was full of colorful seed catalogs just begging to be read, over, and over, and over again. Since I grow organic, and I'm not a GMO kinda gal I ordered my seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and Fedco Seeds.
Sprouting Seeds: As you can see in the photos above, things are growing. This year I'm employing a staggerd approach to my planting, called succession planting.
Growing (indoors) Now: Lacinato Kale Blue Curled Scotch Kale Red Leaf Lettuce Chervil Rainbow Chard Bianca di Maggio Onion Flat of Italy Onion Pequillo Peppers Purple Bell Peppers Jalapeño Peppers Cayenne Peppers Fish Peppers Orange Pixie Tomatoes Pruden's Purple Tomatoes Purple Cherokee Tomatoes
Seed Planting (outdoors) Soon: Radish Arugula Chioggia Beets Golden Beets Queen Sophia Marigolds Cilantro Dill Rosemary
More (indoor) seed starting soon: Green beans Peas Cucumbers Sweet Basil Thai Basil Thyme
2012 looks to be an interesting growing year, I'm looking forward to the challenges and successes of growing in the Mid-Atlantic! Are you growing any vegetables this year? Do you grow from seed or from seedlings?