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For all you garden lovers and enthusiasts, this post is for you! Most yrs, in very early spring or even late winter, we start an inside greenhouse to germinate some of our seeds. This is b/c where we live, the cold lingers on and on and it’s not ideal to plant seeds when the last frost hasn’t passed. In fact, the harsh outside environment may weaken the growth or even kill it. 

Creating a greenhouse enables the seeds to quickly grow in the best environment possible. After they germinate, they may be transferred to your garden or favorite pots. 

And when I say ‘Greenhouse’, I don’t mean go buy a separate glass house for this. Just a little portable greenhouse that you can easily find at your local home and garden store. I use the Burpee 72 cell greenhouse kit. Got it from Home Depot. 

As a teaser and a motivator, here’s some daffodil eye candy. To me, they are the epitome of the start of spring. I am always grinning ear to ear at the first sight of their blooms each spring. 

Bright and happy!

Ok enough eye candy. Here goes…

Materials: seeds, plant labels, growing pellets (coconut fibers). The Burpee kit contains the pellets so you don’t have to purchase them separately. 

Label your seeds. 

We love basil, especially Italian basil for pesto in pasta for the summer time dinners. YUM!

Growing pellets (coconut fibers). These must be placed in planting trays the right way in order for correct expansion when wet. Always place pellets flat side down, refer to the right side pellet in the pic.

Have a warm cup of water handy. 

Place pellets in the tray, flat side down. 

Slowly pour warm water into each cell to soak the pellets. 

W/in a few seconds, the pellets will begin to expand. 

Place 1 or 2 seeds in each cell. Cover the seeds w/ the coconut fibers by slightly pushing the seeds down into the expanded pellets.

Once done planting all the cells, cover the tray w/ the plastic cover. This will create a moist, humid, and ideal environment for the seeds to quickly germinate into seedlings. 

The rate of growth will depend on the type of seed but most will start to grow w/in 1-2 weeks. 

Once your seedlings get too big for the tray or when the weather is warm enough, you can transfer them into pots or to the garden. Fun activity to do w/ the little ones. It’s even more fun for the little ones to watch them grow!

Enjoy your garden this spring and please share what cool things you are planting. I think for us this yr, it has to be asparagus!

Til next post, Kellie. 

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