Starting from Scratch

Yesterday I started my garden the old fashioned way -- by sprouting seeds. I've never done this before. Last year's garden was cultivated from plants bought at Home Depot.

This year I wanted to challenge myself and try growing the vegetables that have to be started indoors, such as tomatoes and peppers, all by myself. I bought a Burpee seed starting kit and an ambitious number of seed packets, both those that need to be started indoors as well as direct sow plants for when the warm weather hits.

To do it this way, you have to start early enough to allow for adequate germination before transplanting outdoors, so for our planting zone, this is the ideal time to start. The seeds above are sweet pepper seeds.

I'm sprouting heirloom tomatoes,

red bell peppers,

big boy tomatoes,

delphiniums,

cherry tomatoes,

and lavender to augment my herb garden. Incidentally, my rosemary, thyme, oregano, and chives all survived the winter. I'm going to try growing cilantro from seed once it gets warm enough. Then all I need to add is basil and parsley, perhaps some mint or lemon balm.

This self-watering seed starting kit couldn't be easier. Once the dehydrated discs were soaked and the seeds planted, I popped on the plastic top, set it in a sunny spot (like our basement steps), and watched the greenhouse effect in action. The plastic immediately fogged up with warm, humid air. So here's to a successful and bountiful growing season. The tomatoes should start sprouting in 7-10 days, so you can expect an update then.