My first time starting plants from seeds

2. Planting medium and schedule

The next problem was what to plant them in. I couldn't decide between loose soilless mix and the JIFFY-7® peat pellets (just add water and they turn into little pots), so I bought them both. I also bought several plastic trays with clear covers, some made especially for pellets, some plain flats. I don't have a light table, so they all had to go in the kitchen window. I must have thought the window was bigger then it was (like, maybe 5 times bigger) because I bought enough flats to cover the top of a billiards table. I was in a seed buying frenzy, caught up in the excitement of it all - I was going to start a greenhouse in my family room, take over the kitchen table, and every other semi-flat surface anywhere near a window ("Dear, would you mind just getting down on your hands and knees just here, in front of the sliding doors? Good, now try to keep your back straight, would you, the flats keep sliding off.").

Based on the information on the back of the packets, I made up a schedule for planting, working backwards from the date that it's usually safe to plant here. I live in hardiness zone 5b, and we usually assume there will be no frost after Victoria Day (the 3rd Monday in May). This year I was given the amazingly accurate tip that the last frost would be on the night of the full moon in May, and it was! With my schedule made up, I started the first batch of seeds. Using the pellets in the pellet flats, I added water, watched them expand, fluffed up the top of the planting medium with a toothpick, and dropped some seeds in each pellet.

..next..

My first time starting plants from seeds
Planting medium and schedule
Sowing the seeds
Light, sowing outside, and the final results

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