Seed Sowing Sunday

The weather is chilly and there is actually a chance of snow this week even though it was nearly 70 degrees yesterday.  Gotta love Oklahoma weather!  Despite the colder temperatures this week, it's time to get out your green thumb and get to gardening...indoors. You can start planning and planting that glorious bounty of fruits, vegetables, wild flowers and herbs you've always dreamed of now.  Let's get started. 

I like this brand of seeds.  Mainly because they come from a reputable company with integrity so I feel good about what they will produce.  You can find them online and at most green houses. 

Burpee
These are just a few of the seeds, according to The Old Farmers Almanac , that prefer to be sowed indoors, weeks before the last predicted frost.  I like The Old Farmers Almanac because their website is chock full of helpful information and easy to navigate.   If you're anything like me, sometimes you need someone to hold your hand and walk you through exactly what needs to be done and this site does just that.  Type in your city or zip code for a list of what and when to plant.  Enter your email address for reminders of what to plant and when.  See?  This is easy peasy.  You will also find loads of exciting things like recipes, gardening tips, garden plans and much more.
Using Miracle Grow soil (because I need all the miracles I can get out there), I filled my pods nearly to the top.  Remove the pesky sticks and twigs.  Carefully place one seedling per pod (if you are far sighted this can be a bit strenuous on the eyes and a pair of tweezers might be good to have on hand).  With your index finger go back and gently push your seeds down about a 1/4".  Go back over your tray with a thin layer of soil and smooth over.  And because we practice "waste not, want not" around here, I used the left over egg shells from breakfast to give the soil an extra boost of nutrients.  

If you don't have a mini food processor GET ONE! 

Perfectly crushed shells to enhance the soil and boost growth...I hope!

It's a messy job but it just might be worth it.  Take the crushed shells and as evenly as possible spread it over your trays.  

There are many ways to identify your pods.  I used popsicle sticks and decorative (of course) masking tape.

I couldn't help but think my trays resembled brownies with toasted coconut on top.  Craving chocolate anyone? Don't worry.  After a few sprinklings the eggs shells will settle into the soil pods.  

It is recommend that you not only place your trays in a warm area with natural light but that you turn your trays daily to fairly distribute a fair share of sunlight.  Word on the street is talking to your seedlings everyday will greatly increase your chance of success.  And water, water, water.  But I suggest sprinkling the water as opposed to pouring the water over the pods.  Pouring may cause flooding thus, resulting in changing your mood for the worse and ruining your day.  I don't have a green thumb anymore than I have a green nose.  I'm going to cross my fingers, stand on my head, and pray for rain in hopes my efforts will yield this kind of result...

Our tomato crop from last summer.  Big Dog took up the hobby of canning so we can enjoy our harvest all year long.

Happy seed sowing everyone.  I hope your garden grows!  Please feel free to leave any of your own personal tips and success stories in the comments.