Starting Seeds

I decided to try to start some plants from seeds this year to see if I could do it. For my birthday, Mom and I purchased a ton of seeds, peat pots, seed starter and trays for the pots. Mom also picked up a "greenhouse" for me, which is basically a metal shelf with a plastic cover. In my opinion, I've got a pretty sweet set-up here. I've mounted my grow lamps on the greenhouse shelf, which sits in front of an east-facing window. I haven't put the plastic cover on it yet, but will once my seeds have outgrown their current location. YouGrowGirl.com is a good online resource for plant guidance. I liked the article on starting seeds.

Here's the list of what we planted:

Veggies
Squash

Zucchini

Green Peppers

Mixed Peppers
Cherry Tomatoes

Herbs

Oregano

Cilantro

Basil

Rosemary

Lavender

Annuals

Zinnias

Bachelor Buttons
Sweet William

Marigolds (seeds I saved from my flowers last year!)

Sunflowers

Perennials

Shasta Daisies

Black-Eyed Susans

Poppies

I think that's everything--200 pots in all!

I've already learned that some of these should have been sown directly into the soil. But, since it is my first year to try this, I'll give myself some room for error. If you'd enjoy any of the above mentioned vegetables (and maybe even some of the flowers), let me know...it seems I might have a surplus soon. :)

So in less than a week, we already had sprouts!

The bachelor buttons (aka Cornflower) were the first to pop up out of the soil. Now, almost a week later basically everything has germinated. The sunflower seeds are hitting the top of the container. There are only a few things that haven't sprouted--the peppers and some of the herbs.

Here's what the entire set-up looks like.

I've acquired part of the 3rd bedroom to do all of this. I found the basement to be too cold for the seeds. So you can see the condensation forming on the top of the flats. I haven't had to water the pots too much, just a light mist from a spray bottle and some water in the bottom of the flats.

*Thanks to Jason for coding assistance on formatting my blog posts!