Since we live in the city and rent, I am growing 100 percent of my garden in containers.  I’m starting a lot of the seeds inside to get a jump on the season.

I love love love high mowing organic seeds!   I already have the nja convinced we need to go up there for a weekend. Vermont isn’t that far away.

 

*       Seeds I’m starting indoors

**    Seeds that are going directly in the containers

***  Seeds that are getting transplanting twice – I decided to transplant some of the seedlings into a little bigger container (bottom of a brown paper lunch sack – I’ll show when the time comes) before going into the final container. I think it will be easier and better for the seedlings (and me) during the hardening off phase. Lugging big pots in and out every day sounds like the opposite of fun.

 

What I’m growing this year…

Amish Paste Tomato  *  ***

Yellow Perfection Tomato  *  ***

De Cicco Broccoli  *  ***

Ancho Poblano Pepper  *  ***

Early Jalapeno Pepper  *  ***

Ring-O-Fire Pepper  *  ***

Olympus F1 Sweet Pepper  *  ***

Sugar Snap Pea  **

Tarpy F1 Hybrid Spinach  **

Aton Basil  **

Santo Cilantro  **

Strike Snap Bush Bean  **

High Mowing Mesclun Mix  **

 

My seed starting containers are short tubes made using a cut up paper bag and a flour/water mixture. You can cut up TP and PT rolls also. You don’t need to buy containers in the store. A little planning and DIY attitude is all you need!

• Cut the front and back panel off of a paper bag on the inside of the seem.
• Cut the panels into aprox 2.5 x 6 pieces, draw lines or use a paper cutter, you want to cut strait so they sit sturdy on the tray.
• Mix 1 ts flour with 4 ts water in a little dish.
• Dip about an inch of the paper in the mix (flour settles to the bottom quick so stir the mix with every piece of paper) let the end of the paper soak for about 10 sec.
• Bring the ends together to form a tube let the ends overlap about an inch and pinch the seem together until the moisture goes through both layers.
• Let them dry…

Andee is trading me brush-up sewing lessons for gardening lessons… It’s like the eagle leading the blind.

Put seed starting mix in a bowl and pour boiling water over it (kills a lot of the bad stuff thats in mixes and soil).  Stir it around with a spoon, not your hands, until it gets to the sponginess of chocolate cake. By the time you get the mix into tubes it will have cooled down enough to put seeds in. I think they prefer warm soil to a cold, I would.

If you firmly pack a about an inch of mix into the bottom of the tube first, there will be a base so you can safely move your starters around without the whole works falling out the bottom. Fill the rest of the tube up to the top with very loose mix, tap the tube lightly to let the mix settle a bit. Read the instructions on your seed packet to find out what depth to plant your seeds.

The only place in my house that’s ever warm is the ceiling. So that is where my seedlings will hang out until they germinate. I check on them twice a day to make sure the moisture level is ok. Use a squirt bottle to water with, way more control.

Good luck little guys!