"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9:6
Chances are you've started seeds at some point in your life. It's often a source of frustration for gardeners, both new and seasoned. The problem as I see it is that we tend to hear advice, and regardless as to the reasoning behind it, we take it at face value. You've heard the advice. I know you have.
"Don't start before Mother's Day."
"Don't grow that, it'll never survive here!"
To that I say, "pffft". Yes, "pfft". You can grow ANYTHING. You just have to provide it with what it needs. So...(or rather "sow" in gardeners lingo) lets get down to the business of getting started.
Seeds. It all starts with the seeds. Or does it? Really it starts with deciding on what you want and why you want it.- Do you want tomatoes the size of a small dog?
- Would you rather a plant that puts out small tomatoes and bunches of them?
- Do you like spinach or other leafy greens?
- Do you want to grow a pumpkin that you can enter into the next state fair?-Would you like to grow your own weight in zucchini?
- Gardeners are rather thrifty and tend to save seeds from one year to the next. Not all but most. So, often you can talk to a gardening friend and ask if they saved some from last year. (But, maybe you aren't talking to that friend, after they left about 40 pounds of that zucchini in your unlocked car last summer.)
- Local big box stores: Walmart, KMart, Walgreens, ACE - Garden and Nursery stores (Spencers, Ricks, Good Earth)
- Catalogs and their online sites: , , ,
- Other Online: Amazon, Ebay
- The supermarket - and we're not talking about seed packets.
The supermarket? I know, you don't look at that bunch of green onions and think to yourself "Boy, oh boy, I can't wait to get these home and bury them in the yard." There are actually many plants you can start from your grocery purchases:
Green Onions
Garlic
Scallions
Potatoes
Onions
Celery
Lettuce
Pineapple
Ginger
Some of these plants are actually difficult to grow from seed, but if you cut off the root end and soak it in water, the roots will begin growing again and you can plant the plant in a pot or in the garden. When you use a green onion and cut off the root end, you can plant that in the dirt, keep it watered and before too long you'll have another green onion growing. Garlic and scallions can be planted in containers or in the ground for a new crop, just separate the cloves before hand.
But, but, they're sprayed with a magic pixie elixir to not grow! (I know you've heard that advice before.) The last bag of potatoes I bought wasn't told that! I forgot the bag in the back of the pantry and when I found it it had grown eyes that would have made a great prop for a Steven King movie! If the potatoes are growing eyes, they can be planted, it's already doing half the work! Why in the world spend nine dollars for a bag of "seed" potatoes when a bag of russets cost three?? That's silliness.
We don't need to reinvent the wheel, check out these other sites for great information
Growing Ginger - Tropical Permaculture
Green Onions - Home Made Serenity
Pineapple - Tickeled Red
Celery - Chickens in the Road
Romaine Lettuce - Three Ps and Q
Garlic - The Art of Doing Stuff
And lastly look in your spice cupboard. Just about any untoasted, unprocessed seed in your spice shelf can be sprouted to grow more. For example, Corriander grows into Cilantro.
Do you like beans? If so, take a look in the dried bean section for some you'd like to try to grow in your own garden this year.
Ok, so we've covered why to start seeds, where to get the seeds, and what seeds you'd like to start, next time I'll move onto starting the seeds (about time, huh?).
Melissa
