tiny seedlings

As you can probably guess, since I love to garden and it is spring, I have begun sprouting seeds indoors getting ready for summer.  My first planting was on March 17th and I began to see sprouts from some seeds on Thursday the 19th... yay!  Sometimes I feel like I pot seeds with my shoulders down having done my part and leaving it to nature now, wondering if any of them will come up.  I always feel such a relief to see little curls appear from the soil.

Shaun and I are doing a repeat of last year and not planting our big garden until the first week of June when the ground is good and hot and seeds sprout up overnight it seemed.  Plus there was less tilling to do because the plants grew so fast.  Needless to say, I have not started any seeds that will go in our garden yet because the first week of June is much more than six weeks away and plants would be too leggy and hard to take care of.  And I am practicing patience.  So, the seeds that I have already begun are for flowers and herbs that will live through the summer in pots and such.  I did actually start some tomato seeds on Monday for Mom, Mary Evelyn and my friend Melia who all want them to grow in pots.

When planting seeds it can be very hard to keep up with what's what until there are leaves to identify.  Some of the seedlings I know from their first leaves but most have to be their second set or real leaves before I can tell good.  In the past I have labeled pots and made little markers to go on tooth picks to stick in the soil.  This year I gave in and simply drew a diagram of my starting tray and that will do until I start moving things around... then I will lose track of what they are!

My greenhouse is simple and portable.  I have a heater with a thermostat that cuts on and off by itself so as to keep a certain temperature for the seedlings and create a humid environment.  I also have a thermometer hanging inside the greenhouse to make sure it doesn't get too hot or too cold for them.  Later on, when plants are bigger and ready to harden off I can move the entire greenhouse outside, most of the time with the front flap zipped open.  Although I do have to seriously tie the little greenhouse down tight or a swift wind will knock it over.

So back to the seeds, so far I have planted basil, oregano, caraway, rosemary, petunia, snapdragon, dichondra, craspedia, lettuce mixes and tomatoes (for friends).  And here is my diagram in my journal.

basil

snapdragon... so fragile looking aren't they?

I may have over done it a bit with the oregano!  Look at all those seedlings!  I haven't had much success starting oregano in the past so I over compensated.  I hate having to pluck out the weak when it comes time to separate.