These photos aren’t going to be beautiful. The beauty comes from the idea of picking and eating my own fresh fruits and vegetables this summer. Did you ever sink your teeth into a sun-ripened tomato, juice dripping down your chin? Or pop sugar snap peas straight from the vine into your mouth? Or tearing off a mint leaf and chewing it before you get it into your tea? Each bite more rich in color and flavor than anything you can get at the supermarket, even better than the farmer’s market. That’s the beauty in this post.
In my kitchen window sill I am starting sweet potato and red potato vines. The sweet potato is developing roots, while the red potato is developing plant shoots. We used to do this each year when we were kids. After all, kids are more likely to eat veggies that they helped to grow.
Sweet Potato & Red Potato
Using disposable cake pans with dome lids, eggs cartons (and some leftover peat pots), and seed starting soil, I crafted mini greenhouses to help germinate my seeds. This week I started two varieties of tomatoes and two of bell peppers.
Mini Greenhouse #1: Tomatoes & Peppers
In Jan. I ordered our seeds from Burpee and used Sprout Robot to help create a personalized planting calendar. About a month ago, we started a small-scale compost. Now Hubster just needs to get some rough cut lumber and build raised beds.
Dear Gardener, what’s your seed starting tip?
Dear Foodies, what’s your favorite fresh veggie or fruit to eat and/or cook?
Young Wifey's Blog 
Making me want to start a garden this year..
You should!
I’ll be starting my tomato seeds in a week or so. Funny you’ve mentioned raised garden beds, I’ve recently been thinking of creating a few in my yard. It’s such a small yard to begin with that it hardly seems worth the effort to try and maintain the patch of lawn. Better to grow veggies with it! I’ll be interested in seeing how yours progresses. Good luck!
That’s great! Our soil is too rocky here to plant veggies in the ground. Raised beds are our only option.
I’m currently building a small repurposed greenhouse. Than my girlfriend gets to start her seeds. 🙂
Awesome! I’d love to see pics when you’re done!
I want to start some tomatoes soon.
Yum!
Hubster is welcome to come make our beds! He hasn’t been to my new home yet…incentive!
We need to get our seed potatoes this week. I hadn’t thought of going for sweet potatoes, but might!
🙂
I start most of my seeds inside with the coffee filter method-easy peasy with good germination rate.
Soak a coffee filter (unbleached is best).
Wring it out so it is just damp.
Place seeds on 1/4 of the filter
Fold in half
Fold in half again (it will be in quarters)
Place inside a sandwich zip lock bag
Gently inflate and seal the bag
Place in a warm dark place
Check in two days and every day after that. You should be able to see if the seeds are sprouting.
If you don’t see moisture on the bag and the filter looks dry, spritz it. If you start growing mold, spritz it with cold Chamomile tea.
When you see sprouts, open the bag and unfold the filter. Use tweezers to gently remove the sprouts and place into whatever you are potting them in, cover lightly. Fold the filter back up and place in the bag again if there are still seeds not sprouted.
I do lasagna-esque gardening. My yard is all sand sand sand so I too have to build my own soil. My beds are just mounds of seaweed, grass, leaves, and compost on top of newspapers and cardboard. Incredible how dense you can plant things in it. It turns into a jungle every year.
http://littlehouseonthesandpit.wordpress.com/
I’ve used a similar technique, but with cotton balls.
And chamomile tea for mold! Awesome, I haven’t heard that one.
I do plan to layer my raised bed garden too. (Our yard is rock rock rock, our house is build on the top of a steep hill and it’s all shale)
Thanks for sharing such great tips!!!
my grandpa had sweet potato vines as house plants!
That’s awesome, did he plan them in the garden during summer?
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