Spring Gardening
April 2024
Spring is here and it’s time to start cleaning up the garden space for all the possibilities of your spring garden. Planning what you want to grow can be daunting, so start small and don’t be afraid to fail forward. Failure is the key to learning. Every gardening journey will have its share of failure, success and some stuff in between. Commit to incremental learning and growth every step of the way and you will find yourself a better gardener than you were the previous season.
My grandmother was an avid gardener. She grew everything from “nira”, eggplant, jalapenos, tomatoes, cucumbers to loofah. She was my first inspiration to step outside and play in the “dirt”. Little did I know that doing so would ultimately help me become a healthier version of myself. Being outside, moving my body and connecting with the Earth has such a powerful way of keeping one “grounded”. My solace is the outdoors, surrounded by nature and all of its wonder.
Here are some of the gardening tools I recommend:
Seed Starting Tips for Your Garden
May 2024
It can be hard to decide what to grow and when to start seeds. There are so many options and narrowing down what you are going to grow can be challenging. We can easily get too ambitious and become overwhelmed. Start small, choose a few complementary varieties you’ll enjoy growing.
Seed starting is a commitment. The seeds have to stay moist and within a certain temperature range to germinate successfully. Temperatures for most varieties have to be above 50 degrees F. Don’t plan a vacation after starting a round of seeds unless you have a friend or family member who can keep your seedlings at the right moisture levels and temperatures.
You can pick-up seed starting mix from your local gardening shop or nursery. Try and stick to a soil mix that uses high quality inputs. I like to use the KiS Seed Starter Mix or the KiS Veggie Soil Mix. A single 1.5 cubic foot bag will be enough for 7 seed starting trays.
I typically buy my seeds from Baker Creek, Seeds of Change, Deep Harvest Seeds or harvest my own seeds from organic veggies I buy at local farmers markets. I prefer heirloom and organic varieties. Seed sharing is also a great way to obtain seeds from folks in your local gardening community who are open to trading.
Toilet paper rolls make great seed starting homes. If you are looking for low cost ways to get started, this is a good one. Cut toilet paper rolls in half and place in a seed starting tray, fill with seed starting soil mix, water, place 1-2 seeds per half roll, top with more seed starting mix and water again. If your garden hose has a mist setting, that’s the best way to moisten your newly seeded trays.
If you are looking for environmentally friendly seed starter containers, take a look at the following options. These are made in France and packaged in the USA. You are also supporting a small North American business.
Daniel’s Plants 100 Pk Seed Starter Trays
Daniel’s Plants 24 Pk 2″ Naked Pots
Serendipity Gardens WA 