If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener. – J.C. Raulston

I’m always trying to up my green thumb game…and it’s true that I keep killing plants in the process. However! I am not deterred and I look forward to starting over every year. We’ve been here for 4 years and every garden has been different. I love it, and it’s that time again.

First we plant then we get them on a heat mat under lights. Some years I don’t bother starting seeds and I just get plants but this year we have a shed. Naturally this meant I didn’t have to give up part of my kitchen which made it much easier to stop being lazy and start my own seeds.

After a few weeks they look like this ^^^. They start to out grow the tiny little seed starting cups. Cramped roots are no bueno.

Mycorrhizal fungi. Who knew that gray powder with a weird name could make such a huge difference in how well plants thrive? This powder is actually a bacteria that colonizes around the plants’ roots and makes it easier for the plants to get nutrients and water from the soil. The actual microbiology of it is fascinating, but I won’t bore you.

I gently put them in inoculated dirt in a bigger cup. Then they get to grow there for a few weeks until they go in the garden. Today we got the watermelons and tomatoes in the ground. Layna helped with watermelons and Corra did tomatoes, both girls taking their garden responsibilities very seriously…it was a good day. Next week will be all things Easter!