STARTING SEEDS EARLY IN THE HOUSE

The Potter’s Shed is full of lots of plants, that I started this last Jan.-Feb. in the house. It doesn’t take much time and the results will give you a head start in your garden. This year we are going to do Farmer’s Market for the first time and we wanted to be ready. I will keep you posted as we start this new adventure. To start your seeds here is what we did. It works real well. You will need to make a homemade Heat Box to help your little seeds sprout using a brown cardboard box. It will get the dirt warm and the seeds will germinate real fast. Here is what you will need to get started:

Brown cardboard box the top dimension needs to be at least 2 ft. long x 1 1/2 ft. wide. The depth of the box needs to be at least 1 1/2 ft. or 2 ft. tall.

Power cord

Plug in light bulb adapter (found at hardware store or Wal-Mart)

60 watt light bulb

Potting soil

cups or seed trays

Seeds

Make a hole through the side of the card board box at the bottom unless it already has one like mine did.

Tape the power cord to the floor of the box on the inside right in the middle part of the box. You need to be real careful to have it safe, so it won't start a fire. You may need an extension cord, if the power cord doesn’t have a long enough cord. Plug in the light bulb adapter. Screw in the 60 watt light bulb into the top of the adapter.

This is what the plug in light bulb adapter looks like.

I use styrofoam cups or seedling trays and any good potting soil to plant my seeds in. Use a pencil to poke a hole in the bottom of each styrofoam cup. Fill the cup with potting soil. Plant seed in each cup and after you have planted each seed, slip the cup or tray into a plastic bag. I buy a box of BAGGIES with ties for the styrofoam cup and gallon storage bags for seed trays. This will give a greenhouse effect. You are now ready to put the cups on the top of the heat box.

Tape the top of the heat box closed. The heat will rise and help your little seedlings sprout.

Your flat tray or cups (put on a cookie sheet) will fit on top of your heat box. One of our farm friends told us about this inexpensive method, it really works well. You will not believe how those little seeds will come up. Now you are ready to plant your seeds.

After the seed has sprouted you need to take it out of the plastic and put it under a grow light. The light needs to be 1”-2” above the plants. We buy our florescent shop light at any hardware store. Be sure to keep the seedlings watered, but not soaked. I use my little tea pot to water each plant. If the plant seems too dry, set the cup in warm water and let the soil soak from the bottom up. Let the seeds dry a little in between waterings though. That helps the stems grow stronger and the roots fuller.

This year we started tomatoes, green peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, cucumbers. marjoram, basil, thyme, sweet williams, zinnias, nasturtium, jalapeno, cilantro and oregano,. All of the seeds I planted sprout easily. You can buy your seeds from seed catalogs or at the nursery.

The picture below is in the Potter's Shed. It was an old feed bunk

that was used for the baby calves, when my husbands parents had a dairy farm.

We filled it up with dirt and I use it for planting things in the summer. I put my little plants to harden off. I have a screen window that I put over the top of the bunk when it gets cool at night. It is a great little green house for me to use to get my plants ready for the garden.

My Roma tomatoes are doing great!

I just love every part of the gardening process. It amazes me of the goodness of the Lord. To think that His word tells me Genesis 1:29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” To have a Heavenly Father that would think of our daily need for food. I just thank Him so much. I guess that is why I love the whole garden thing. He started it!

This last weekend I was able to go to Dillon’s Nature Center. They had trees that were 2 years old for sale. One of the men there was very helpful in telling us how to plant the trees. To water them, (if you are going to have to carry water) take a pcv pipe about 1 1/2’ feet long. Drill holes in the side of the pipe and put in the ground next to the tree. When you need to water the tree take a water jug filled with water, turn it upside down into the top of the pipe. I thought this was fantastic. Have a wonderful time gardening. If you have any tips on gardening please comment. As we put our garden in I will have more information. Think about starting some herbs. They are very easy to grow.

Enjoy your thyme in your garden! I find my quiet time to be able to lift up those I love in prayer. It is so quiet around our farm. I don't have very many neighbors. To hear the birds chirping and watching them get ready to have little babies in their nests is delight to my soul.

Be sure to put up a lot of birdhouses at your place. You will be amazed that you can watch the momma and daddy birds with their young. Two years ago our oldest son's family gave me a really cute bird house for the Potter's Shed. We had a finch family come and live. We watched the momma bird teach her little ones to fly. It is a special memory of ours.

Here are some sites that I have found helpful.

http://www.sherrysgreenhouse.com/pages/seedstarting/index.html#

http://www.growbetterveggies.com/growbetterveggies/instructions-on-how-to-gr.html

http://www.gardenstuffs.com/

http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/ten-seed-starting-tips.aspx