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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Garden Prep Time

Spring appears to have finally come, (though with the temperature pushing 90 yesterday I am feeling like we skipped spring and went right to summer) which means its time to get ready to plant. I always loved gardening when I was little. We had a nice sized garden at my house, and my grandparents always had gardens that we would help tend and harvest.

I found a couple of great websites to help you determine when is the best time to put things in the ground to give your plants the best chance at survival. The Farmers Almanac has average frost dates for every state. I found this to be helpful in making sure that I did not plant too soon! I also stumbled across an interesting article on the Farmers Almanac website about the Top 5 Easiest to grow Vegetables. Of the 5 they listed, I am growing 4 this year!

Last year I kept it simple and only grew tomatoes, basil, and cilantro. We have to keep everything in pots, which makes it a little more complicated. On Monday I will share with you my new planting location, which I am so excited about!

Since I knew I would have some more space this year, I decided to start a bunch of different vegetables in these little peat pods. I got mine at Walmart, though I've seen them in garden departments at Home Depot, Lowes, etc, also. I got the case (which holds 72) along with all 72 pods for about $6. Next year I can reuse the case and just get some more pods.

I used them last year for my tomatoes and I felt like they worked really well for starting indoors and moving outside. Since each pod is separate, it is so easy to transplant them when your plant gets big enough. Of course, you do not have to buy something like this; there are many other ways to get your plants started.

When you first get these pods, they are very small (like above), but just add water and watch them grow!


They will end up being about 1 inch high, at which point you can add your seeds. I also found that my seeds sprouted quicker when using these little pods.


Are you planning on having a garden this year? Do you prefer veggies or flowers? I am super excited about the veggies I'm going to grow, but I also have some flowers that are coming up. Happy Spring!

3 comments:

  1. I am hoping to garden - but fear I may be off to a slow start. But, at our new house, we have a nice big garden plot - and it seems there are some strawberry plants coming up! I am super excited about them!

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  2. I really want to have a garden this year since our new home already has a nice size plot out back. I am excited about it, but haven't a clue where to start. Thanks for the post, its getting my wheels turning. I hope to do some yellow squash, zucchini, pumpkins, green peppers, maybe tomatoes (we don't like them-but maybe I could make my own sauces with them). And possibly start some berry bushes, though I don't think anything will harvest this year with those. I will enjoy my lovely neighbors red raspberries like we did last summer and fall. Delicious! We'll see how far I get with mine! Anybody want to join me?!? I thought it may be fun to make it a group effort and then share the crops?!!?

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  3. Where do you get peat pods? I have never heard of them or seen them before? How do they work? What are they?

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