Yesterday I bought some seeds, soil, and other seed starting supplies. A few *ahem* dollars later, I had myself an early birthday present. I thought it was appropriate considering I was born on the First Day of Spring. (Anyone born on the 21st? Let’s argue discuss.)
When I lived in New York I had a porch garden where I grew mainly herbs–not much else survived. When I moved to Utah, we had space for strawberries and tomatoes on the side of my house and driveway, along with herbs in large pots. Last year I ripped out some sod on the other side of my driveway to enlarge my garden. This year I am going to rip out even more. All that back-breaking work will be very worth it when I am eating all those fresh veggies on my table each night this summer.
Oh, how I love the feel of the dirt between my fingers.
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| Forgive the blurry picture… |
This year I bought an indoor greenhouse and three biodegradable paper tray starters.
I spent yesterday afternoon planting my seeds inside and planning the layout of my garden. Today I planted some cold weather greens and spring onions outside.
I love the little peat moss pods in the plastic tray. I wish I had bought a few more flats instead of the paper trays. They’ll work fine too, but I love that the peat pellets came with a plastic lid. I wrapped the other trays with plastic wrap. The plastic covering keeps the pods moist for better seed germination.
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| Expanded peat pods after I added 2 Tbsp. warm water to each one. |
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| Preparing each pod by poking a hole for the seeds to go. |
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| Paper tray. |
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| I used more flags for the paper trays, but also wrote labels directly on the tray. |
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| Beet seeds. I’ve never seen them before, so I had to take a picture. The chard seeds looked the same but were smaller. |
The seeds I planted yesterday and today:
Red Bell Pepper
Rainbow carrots
Beets
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
Yellow Pear Tomatoes
Fennel
Dill
Parsley
Basil
Green beans
Broccoli
Kale
Chard
Spinach
Sweet Onions
Zucchini
Butternut Squash (seeds saved from last year’s harvest)
Already in the garden/perennials:
Thyme
Sage
Rosemary
Oregano
Salad greens (reseeded from last year)
Strawberries
Still need to buy or plant:
Jalapeno or serrano chile seedlings
Roma Tomato seedlings
Tomatillo seedlings (unless they come back from last year…)
Yukon Gold Potatoes
Shallots
Garlic
Cilantro (I have dried berries from last summer)
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What are you planting this year? Are you planting a garden? I’m going to try my hand at square foot gardening. Any advice?
8 Comments
Gardening (sigh)…in my dreams. I garden in my dreams.
Can I just come and share your garden? You have everything I want and need! I just did herbs last year- basil, rosemary, thyme, Italian parsley, cilantro, sweet mint, and lavender. Most of them made it through the winter and are in full bloom. I really need to start a garden this year. Thanks for the tips.
I knew I forgot something! I have lavender and chives too. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little neighborhood garden and all live by each other and share it. I know they have those all over the place, but I want to be part of one.
Terresa, in my dreams I only have a garden and nothing else to do.
The Lehi South Stake has a stake garden by the stake center. And this year, I am reserving a plot. I have no idea what I am going to plant and I have never taken any garden seriously. But whatever, I am going to do it. It should be satisfying.
Yay for gardens! I have managed to get a decent sized one going in a planter box on my mini patio, but I would die for a house with space for one!!
Visiting from Utah Blogger Meetup
-Trissta
http://www.livingonthechic.com
nothing like eating fresh food from your own graden. We’ve only planted a couple of things but it was still fun and delicious. yay for march birthdays.
I have yet to try gardening; the way you do it is so simple and effective ! I would have never thought that one could start a garden from planting inside these little peat pods – and, my, you are planting a lot this year ! This is so inspiring.
I planted basil, tomatoes, and cilantro and they are growing surprisingly nicely in my kitchen. I still want you to come see them.