Thrifty Little Seeds
Dear Reader,
Can I just tell you how much of a kick I get out of growing plants from seed? I sow them with abandon because they don’t cost much and produce hundreds of perennials and annuals for my gardens each year. Last year I added a second shelving unit and I can now plant up to 32 flats in my potting room on two 4’ wide x 6’ tall, 18” deep shelving units!
This is how I do it:
As soon as we put Christmas away, I pull out my seed catalogues and circle all the plants I want to try. I go through the seeds I have left from previous years too and make my lists by beds: inside fence bed, outside fence bed, house foundation beds, fairy garden, fruit garden, kitchen garden, etc. Each of those areas have a spring list, a summer list, fall list and winter list so I can try to have something blooming or interesting all the time. (This is definitely a work in progress!)
My wish list gets some editing when I’ve had a few days for a reality check. Then I place my orders, usually with Park Seed and Johnny’s Seed. I also gather seeds from the big box stores, and my local farm store and nursery, pretty much anywhere I see a seed packet, my eyes go there! When I have all my seeds together, I put them into piles by planting dates, both for starting indoor and for sowing outdoors. I clip each stack together and write a sticky note with the date to start them. This helps so much! I purchase potting soil and pull out my flats and cups from previous years and have everything ready. We built a room at the back of the garage, where I finally have dedicated seed growing space, and added a utility sink with a sprayer nozzle which has been so helpful for seed starting. A month ago I pulled an unused desk from the garage and am thrilled to now have a garden office so I have one place for seeds, binders, and catalogues. (Stay tuned for taping, mudding, painting and moldings!)
One fall a few years ago I was able to get some flats with clear plastic covers on clearance at Dollar General for $1.50 and I grabbed all 6 they had left. Since then I’ve bought more and I reuse all of them. Those covers have been very handy and I’ve had great germination rates. I take off the covers once the seedlings appear.
My plant shelves came from one of the big box stores. We bought castors for it so we could move it around easily. Each shelf can hold four flats, and from each of the top four shelves I hang shop lights. The first years I just used regular fluorescent bulbs but I’m in the process of switching over to LEDs. I don’t buy expensive plant light bulbs. I try to rotate the flats so they get somewhat even exposure but really, I’m not trying for perfection. The lights are setup on an inexpensive timer that I bought so I don’t have to worry about turning them on and off. I usually water from beneath which seems to keep the gnats at bay. I use sticky traps which also helps.
When the last frost date has passed, I can wheel the shelving units out to our deck and use it as a staging place to pull flats and start planting. The shelves are also used for housing my geraniums, dipladenias, and anything I’m propagating. They don’t love being indoors, but they usually survive well enough that I can bring them back to life outside in the spring.
Plant shelving units with grow lights are very expensive, but my version is affordable and works well. After the initial expense, each year you can grow flats for very little money and if you save seeds like I sometimes do, you can grow food and flowers for almost free. In our world of constant inflation, it’s a good feeling when you can beat the system and enjoy helping those tiny little seeds become something beautiful or/and tasty!
Sending thoughts of sunshine your way,
Trish
