You Grow Girl™

Many of us in the Northern Hemisphere are rapidly approaching that last straw part of winter, looking for a little sun and some springtime cheer to warm our hearts, minds and bodies. When you can’t take another minute of winter it’s time to start talking about seed-starting! When I’m looking toward spring I think about the seeds I will start indoors but I also like to focus on the earliest crops, seeds like peas, cilantro, lettuces, and spinach that can be started outside as soon as the ground thaws. If you’re on the west coast you can probably start planting peas very, very soon if not already. If you’re in Florida you were still eating fresh peas off the vine a month or two ago. If you’re in the northeast like me, you can start thinking about the peas you’re going to grow. Someday. In the future.

There’s years of information on this site and I know it can be hard to find, so I’ve put together a list of seed-starting articles and posts that will give your mind and spirit a jump start into spring.

• Handy Seed Starting Chart - Remembering when to sow and when to plant out can be tricky when you’ve got a wild variety of seedlings on the go.
• The Lazy Gardener’s Seed Starting Chart - Calculate seed sowing and planting dates in seconds with this even handier version of the Handy Seed Starting Chart.
• A Quick and Easy Germination Test - Just because your seed packets are past their due date doesn’t mean they aren’t still good. Here’s a simple test that might save you some cash.
• Ensure Your Bounty of Peas - Peas are traditionally the first food crop started in the garden. Learn the ins and outs of growing your own.
• Seed Starting Science - What happens when a seed germinates.
• Damping Off - Dealing with seedling rot.
• Toilet Roll Seed Starter
• Tall & Floppy Seedlings - Outlines a cheap and easy lighting set-up that will prevent ‘leggy’ seedlings.
• My Review of the Lee-Valley Self-Watering Windowsill Seed Starter - I like these so much more than those awful peat pellet kits. They do have their issues but they fit perfectly on narrow windowsills. If you’ve got more space I suggest getting the larger Self-Watering Seed Starter instead.
• Mix Your Own Seed-Starting Mix - Worth the small effort.