I am exceedingly eager to get started on the garden this year. I was ready for a break back in October, but now I'm ready to hit the ground running. Certainly it is too cold to plant anything out yet, but that won't stop me from experimenting with a few different seed starting options. My artichoke seeds are already under grow lights indoors since they take so long to start, but I want more. I NEED more.
After reading this post on A Garden for the House, I decided to try winter sowing. I joined a winter sowing group on facebook so that I have a place to as questions, but generally I'm just going to dive in and experiment. For now, my plan is to winter sow cold crops outside in mini-greenhouses and start my summer crops indoors under grow lights. I also have a 4 shelf greenhouse I can put outside when it gets warmer and my summer crops get a bit bigger to help harden them off.
The nice thing about winter sowing is that you don't have to harden off crops. I find this process to be a pain because I have to haul everything in and out twice a day. Since I'm starting upwards of 250 seedlings this year, that's a lot of hauling. Perhaps that's the most appealing thing to me, it speaks to my sense of efficiency. Basically, the greenhouses are covered until the seedlings sprout, then you uncover and plant them when conditions are right. They are already used to changing temperatures, wind and rain so adjusting to the full force of nature will be considerably less of a shock than moving from the perfectly controlled environment of indoors out into the elements.
On Sunday I planted cabbage, lettuce, sage, and broccoli in these mini-greenhouses made of milk and soda bottles (big thanks to my family for saving these for me!). I expect each seed to germinate when it determines conditions are right. I do not expect the standard germination time as listed on the back of the packets because my conditions are different than theirs.
January and February are a great time to experiment. There's not much to be done outdoors, but if you are successful indoors you will have strong, healthy, large plants to plant out as soon as conditions are right. If you fail, there's still time to start new seeds, direct sow, or purchase seedlings.
After reading this post on A Garden for the House, I decided to try winter sowing. I joined a winter sowing group on facebook so that I have a place to as questions, but generally I'm just going to dive in and experiment. For now, my plan is to winter sow cold crops outside in mini-greenhouses and start my summer crops indoors under grow lights. I also have a 4 shelf greenhouse I can put outside when it gets warmer and my summer crops get a bit bigger to help harden them off.
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| Mini-greenhouses made of milk and soda bottles. |
On Sunday I planted cabbage, lettuce, sage, and broccoli in these mini-greenhouses made of milk and soda bottles (big thanks to my family for saving these for me!). I expect each seed to germinate when it determines conditions are right. I do not expect the standard germination time as listed on the back of the packets because my conditions are different than theirs.
January and February are a great time to experiment. There's not much to be done outdoors, but if you are successful indoors you will have strong, healthy, large plants to plant out as soon as conditions are right. If you fail, there's still time to start new seeds, direct sow, or purchase seedlings.
Remember, gardening isn't all about the harvest, it's also about learning!
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