Friday, March 13, 2015

Starting Seeds

I started some lettuce, arugula, spinach, carrot, and marigold seeds on Sunday, and the arugula has already sprouted!
 
Today, I planted more seeds, tomatoes and sweet peppers.  Our playroom doubles as a sort-of green house, so I have a great place for starting seeds.  Three of the walls are glass doors, and although it has a regular roof, there is plenty of sunlight for seed starting.  I often help the seeds along, especially peppers and tomatoes, by using these plastic lids loosely over the tops of the pots: 
 
It's not pretty, but it works really well.  I have 2 of these flats planted.  All of the pots are old ones that I reuse every year.  I just fill them with either potting soil (organic) or seed starter, whichever I have or can find cheaper.  I still need to plant the broccoli, herbs, etc, but I'll get there this weekend.
 
Every time I start my garden, I think of my Papaw.  He was as excited about my garden as I was, every year.  When I was a kid, he grew the best tomatoes ever.  At the time, I thought his garden didn't look good.  It was messy, with heaps of dried grass clippings for mulch thick around his plants, and grass spiders making their webs everywhere.  I didn't complain, of course, because I loved his tomatoes, but I did wish he had one of those "prettier" gardens with the neat dirt rows.  Now that I'm grown and grow my own food, I realize how genius his garden methods were, and I use them myself.  My garden is not pretty, but it produces great tomatoes, almost as good as Papaw's.
 
 
 
My littlest gardener-in-training.  I'm sure he'll keep me on my toes in the garden!

I linked this post to the Homestead Blog Hop at Chickadee Homestead.  Click here:  http://chickadeehomestead.com/2015/03/homestead-blog-hop-22.html for more gardening, farming, cooking, and old-fashioned home-making links.

 
 

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