~ Seed Starting ~

Yipee ~~ I finally received my seeds Monday , so today I started all the cold weather crops. I have been saving egg cartons for awhile , I was saving them for my future eggs , but remembered when I was in elementary school , how we used them to start seeds , so I' m starting some of my seeds in them this year , better for the environment and the plants.

I saved the egg shells , washed them , let them dry , placed the shells back in the cardboard holder and punched holes in the bottom of each shell. I put potting soil in each shell , planted the seeds , then I used a spray bottle to dampen the soil. I covered them with plastic wrap ( the last box of wrap I intend to buy ~ hate the stuff ) to help keep them moist , then I put the cardboard sleeve over them to keep them dark. I'll keep them in my spare bedroom until they sprout , then I'll move them to basement and put them under lights.

I did an internet search about starting seeds in egg shells , found this article , http://www.pallensmith.com/index.php?id=1052. The wonderful thing about this process is you can plant the egg shells or card board holders and not worry about root damage , plus the shells add nutrients.

I started 2 types of cabbages , Early Round Dutch Cabbage and Red Acre Cabbage , Di Cicco Broccoli , Catskill Brussel Sprouts , Iceberg Lettuce and Paris White Cas Lettuce (Romaine Lettuce ). I've never started these type seeds , hope they do well.

The weather has been wonderful today , did a load of wash and hung it out to dry. DH and K Gray moved my raised beds to their permanent location , plan to work on those the weekend. The chicks are doing well , they've adjusted to the coop. The guineas decided to become totally free range yesterday , they didn't stay in the coop last night , found them a nice roosting spot , high up in the trees . I would prefer they stay in the coop overnight , but not much you can do , if they want come down from the trees.

~ Green Blessings ~

JoyceAnn