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Winter is breaking, Spring is around the corner, and once again, I'm looking at all of the garden catalogs, but one thing is different this year. My husband lost his job, and we can't buy anything we want. Thank goodness I love starting plants from seed.
I am in the process of planting several thousand pansy seed. This being my first time to grow pansies from seed, I really wasn't prepared.
When it's time to transplant my seedlings into larger pots, I usually have a good supply of recycled plastic yogurt cups. But this year, I ran out of them. This turned out to be a good thing as it forced me to try something new. And probably even better.
I am going to start this by saying, "My husband is the best." He helps me with everything and he is always encouraging me to find new things that I love and enjoy.
To plant seeds and not take up a lot of space, use vinyl pouches and hang them on your windows with suction cups and water them with a turkey baster. This works well in a window that gets a lot of warm southern exposure light.
I love collecting seeds to propagate. I have been most successful in sprouting even difficult seeds by creating my own tiny greenhouse. I could buy one, but I prefer to use what I find in my own recycle bin.
Maybe one day I'll have an honest to goodness greenhouse. Til that day, I'll continue to 'make do' with what I have.
I have my medicine in my purse so I always stuff the doser cup with toilet tissue or facial tissue. It makes these darling little seed starters.
Do you start your own seeds each spring? Start saving your orange, grapefruit, Cutie, and such peels. Instead of peeling them normally, first slice them in half. Use the empty halves to fill with soil and your seeds. I have some old rusty muffin pans I use to stand them up in. You plant the entire thing.
An easy way to sprout seeds is to put the seed on a coffee filter and fold it over. Wet it and put it in a baggie. Close the baggie and wait for it to sprout.
I use my strawberry container, or any type that has a clear top, to start my plants and veggies in. This acts as a mini green house for free.
It's March. Time to start your garden seedlings! You know the clear egg cartons and the clear croissant or cookie containers with clear lids that you get at the grocery store? Don't throw them away! Buy seed starter discs and soak them in these containers.
I read somewhere and am looking forward to trying this with my granddaugher. Start seeds in empty egg shells. Treat the carton like a lil green house.
Save your paper or other take-out coffee cups to plant seeds in if you start seeds for the garden in the house, as we do here in upstate NY.
I did not have good luck with starting plants from seeds until I started using Jiffy 7 peat soil pellets indoor seed starter.
Use the inner plastic lining from a biscuit tin or an egg box to sow seedlings before transferring out of doors or into larger pots. Saves a few cents.
