Get Your Garden Started

Are you ready to start working in the yard? It's so beautiful outside we can't seem to stay inside for more than a couple minutes. We forced ourselves to get our chores and school work finished this morning. Now we're headed out!

Yesterday we cleaned dead plants and leaves out of the flower beds. We also got our flower seeds started. The kids love to plant their own giant sunflower seeds every year. They grow so fast you can practically see their leaves unfolding. In just a few months they will be taller than the kids. Then the kids get to eat the seeds. Gardening can't get any more fun than that! If you've got kids you really need to have them try this for themselves this summer.

Here's how I'm starting my seeds this year:

I fill a plastic drink cup 3/4 full with clean potting soil and make a drainage hole in the bottom with a knife. Following the directions on the package, I plant the seed in the soil and write the name of the flower on the cup with a black marker. I line the cups up in plastic trays that allow for drainage. I get these free from our local nursery. I water the cups lightly and cover them with a clear plastic container. This keeps them moist and warm. I keep all my trays in a wagon that I can pull into the sun during the day and pull back into the garage at night. I have to keep a rock on top of the trays to keep the lids from blowing off. When the plants start sprouting I will take the covers off. When they get their second set of leaves they can be transplanted into the garden as long as any danger of frost is past. Last year I started all my seeds indoors under grow lights. This was too much work and much too expensive. It was too much work because I had to haul water to water the seedlings twice a day and I had to move the plants in and out of the garage for a couple weeks to harden them off anyway. Doing it this way I can use the hose for watering and the plants will already be accustomed to the weather.

I hope you will try starting your own seeds this year. If it feels too overwhelming, begin with just one type of flower or vegetable. I don't want you spending all your hard-earned money at the nursery. It's too easy to do it yourself and it's so much fun!