It’s time to not only start thinking about your 2016 herb and vegetable garden – it’s time to start doing something about it! If you put in some seeds now, you’ll be ready to plant as soon as the ground is ready to receive your plants. And you’ll save a lot of money over buying nursery-grown plants, too!
I usually start my seeds in emptied, rinsed Egg Shells and old-fashioned
natural-fibre Egg cartons.
You’ll find little envelopes of herb and vegetable seeds in nice neat wire racks at your local home and garden stores. Start them now and you’ll have a leg up on your neighbours as well as setting yourself up for the earliest possible harvest!
What you need
You’ll need something to start your seeds in. I use emptied Egg shells and natural-fibre Egg cartons. I also recommend that you use packaged specially-formulated seed-starter soil mix (available from the same outlets as your seeds) for best results.
What you do
After that, there’s not much else to consider except hot deep to plant the seeds and how often to water them. My biggest mistake when I started growing herbs and veggies from seed was not watering them enough. You need to keep them moist – but not wet – until they germinate and send their first little leaves up through the surface of the soil. Follow the instructions on each seed packet for best results.
What not to plant now…
You’ll want to plant some veggies right into the ground around the end of May, as soon as the ground is thawed and warm enough to permit germination. Plant too soon and the seeds will just rot.
Peas and beans are usually planted right in the ground, and will germinate in relatively cool conditions. In fact, the old timers (my late Dad included) swore that they grew better and yielded more edibles if planted earlier. Corn goes directly into the ground, too, but a little later than the Peas and Beans. Corn needs nice warn soil to germinate and grow. Just ask any commercial Corn grower who calculates the harvest date of his crop according to GDDs – Growing Degree Days.
Also, you can start Melons, Squashes, Cucumbers and all the myriad Gourds now in little pots or just plant the seeds right into the garden as soon as the ground is warm.
Let us know…
…How your seedlings are coming along! We’ll share your experiences here at the Fabulous Food Blog!
~ Maggie J.