Starting from Seeds

   So last year, we were pretty successful starting  most of our crop from seeds.  It's not as difficult as it sounds but it does take some planning.  For about the cost of a night at the bar, you can purchase all the seed packets it will take to start your fabulous garden. 
   This year we bought a couple of greenhouses.  We didn't build a giant one like you might think, basically it is 72 peat pellets that you water and add your seeds to. Then cover with the plastic lid and let your garden take off. In about a week or two, you will start to see your plants come to life.  It's very exciting knowing that you're growing your own food.  We do monitor our plants to make sure we transfer them into peat pots (which you can see in the picture) before they get too big.  Both peat pots and greenhouse (by Jiffy) can be purchased at Lowes, Home Depot and even Walmart!  We currently have 2 kinds of zucchini, yellow squash, & cucumbers in peat pots.  They'll be ready to transplant around the 15th of May.  This is traditionally the day to start a garden in our area but we're very excited to have a big harvest this year so we started early by growing from seeds indoors.  You can find out when it's time to put your wellies on and dig by googling Hardiness Zone.  I like the National Gardening Association's page.
   We also have quite a bit of fennel still in the pellets as well as eggplant, watermelons, pumpkins and hot peppers.  Once it warms up again, we'll drive up to our garden and transplant everything in. Butcher's farm stand has tons of fabulous tomatoes and I'd rather leave the growing to Stacy.  I'll get my tomatoes from her as well as my herbs for my herb garden.   Last year, Adam's dad and grandmother didn't think my fennel would survive but lo and behold I had some fantastic salad with fennel.  This year, I'm really hoping to do more with my veggies.  I've also decided to donate as much as possible this year to local food bank or a place that feeds the hungry.  You definitely have to give back when you've been blessed! Don't you agree? 
   I think we may have to plow more this year for our very big garden.  I hope Adam's dad doesn't mind!