so many seeds to sow

For the first time in 12 years, we're putting in a vegetable garden. M and I built a couple of lovely raised cedar beds a few weeks ago. Now we’re waiting for an opportunity to get them into the ground and filled with some local soil. In the meantime, I’m relearning the art of growing vegetables. The ability to access information sure has changed in the last 12 years! In a few short hours, I learned tons about how to grow everything imaginable in our climate. My initial plan included waiting until starts appear in nurseries, then buy a few to grow in our beds. That should be simple enough. Beyond assisting on a science fair project, I don’t have much experience growing plants from seeds.

Then I read Laurie’s blog, lifeforcevibrations.blogspot.com. She's starting seeds inside, right now. Using egg cartons. She made it look so easy and fun. I was inspired. Since our hens seem to be on strike, we have plenty of egg cartons waiting to be useful. So accompanied by a small dog and a smaller list of supplies, I escaped to Portland Nursery. The seed section was fascinating, and crowded. My short list suddenly grew to include all the veggies we eat on a regular basis. I wedged myself in between two customers, contemplating which herbs to buy, to quickly snatch up the last packet of genovese basil. Several racks were already cleaned out of other popular items. At the beginning of March! Yeah for backyard gardeners!

Two hours later... and two trips to the car... I brought home two blueberry bushes, potatoes, garlics, seeds, seeds, seeds, seeds... starting trays, soil... and did I mention seeds? butter lettuce, mesclun mix, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet onions, red onions, carrots, delicata squash, cilantro, basil, beans.



I poured some of the seed starting soil into a bucket and mixed it with water...



I filled each egg carton compartment with a ball of the wet soil. Seeds were planted according to the package instructions for depth, and covered with a thin layer of soil. I then placed the cartons into the black plastic trays I purchased and positioned them in front of our south facing windows... now it’s up to the sun and a daily dose of water sprayed onto them.



This experience leaves me thinking we may soon have an excess of little veggie plants. We're probably just in need of a few more raised beds. Most seeds need at least 6-8 weeks to grow inside before they go out into the garden. So... time to sow!