For me planning the garden makes the winter more bearable.  It’s snowing right now, not a big storm, but it’s not spring.  So a few weeks ago my husband and I figured out what we needed for seeds this year and got them on order.  It’s like Christmas in January when they come! 🙂

We learned quite a bit last year on what works and what doesn’t for seedlings so hopefully this year we will do really well.  I think we’ve sorted out which seeds need to start now and then to stagger the rest.  We planted our peppers, leeks, bunching onions, broccoli, and Brussels Sprouts.

To start we brought out all our trays we had from last year.  Thank goodness they are reusable!  I fill the tray part way with organic seed starter and then water.  I use a spray bottle so there is an even spread of moisture.  You don’t want mud.

I don’t want the drier soil to wick away moisture from the seeds.  Then furrows are “drawn” in the soil and the seeds are dropped in.  I try to match the spacing on the package as much as I can.  We’re limited for space in our setup so I want as much to come up as possible.

Once the seeds are dropped in they get sprayed again.  Then the soil gets pressed down over them lightly.  Spray again!  Our house is quite dry in the winter time so it’s important that the seeds get the right environment.

Pop the clear lid over the tray.  These are great for keeping the moisture and warmth in.

We set up a spot in the back room with grow lights and heating pads.  We learned the hard way last year that the heating pads should be on timers.  Our house runs 55-60F/13-18C and some seeds require soil temps of about 75F/24F.  So we bought heating pads that said they would raise the temps 10-20 degrees.  Perfect we thought.  Until the soil temp shot up to 110F/43C.  Great way to kill seeds!  So there was a false start there.

It’s been a week and the broccoli and Brussels Sprouts are coming up!  We also have alfalfa sprouts coming up as well.  🙂

Can’t wait for spring!!