Starting seeds for the future garden!

Michael and I are started some seeds this weekend! We're so excited to have the opportunity to garden at the house, and since we aren't moving in until the end of April, wanted to get a jump start on the things that need it. Of the 17 seed packets we ordered, 11 items needed to be started indoors: all herbs except basil, both tomatoes, both peppers, onion and leek. Our seeds were ordered from Seed Savers Exchange, a company out of Iowa (as local as we could find) that specializes in heirloom varieties, and, obviously, seed saving/exchanging (which is how they have so many heirloom varieties!). A lot of our veggies will be the same veggies our grandparents (or great grandparents) may have grown in their time!

We decided to use the seed block method our friend, Jed, had used and blogged about over at his myspace blog, using a "plunger" method. With this, a person can create a seed block without having to use a container. This allows for easier transfer to the ground without the transplant trauma of removing from a container first.

Soil, water, bucket for mixing, tray and "plungers"

Tip: once a shower curtain goes "icky" and can no longer be used for its intended purpose, don't throw it out! Cut off the nasty parts and keep it on hand for dirty stuff (especially smart for apartment living). I've kept our last couple, and they have come in handy for things like this

We played it by ear and mixed in some water to get the moisture level right for packing. The soil we picked up was made up of compost, peat, rice hulls, and organic fertilizer, and was a bit dry.

The plungers, made quite simply, of: an aspirin-type plastic bottle, a bolt and a couple of nuts; soil gets packed in and then pushed out, creating a compact soil "block"; on the top of the pod is a divot for seed(s), roughly 1/4" deep.

We placed our seed pods into a tray and a few plastic boxes that Michael's been saving and stacking up in our apartment for some reuse project (like this one!). We ended up making "beds" in two boxes, one for the onions and one for the leeks, since those packets came with so many seeds (100 in one of them!). Hopefully, transplant won't be too tricky.

Our challenge in getting seeds to grow is the lack of sunshine (not just because it's a dreary Spring, but because we have one set of East facing windows, the rest North. NO Southern exposure!). So, we set out to either find grow lamps or to make them. I'm sure we could have found the lamps relatively inexpensive, but I challenged Mike to make them (thinking that making them would be cheaper). And, he rose to the challenge! Here's a guy who can make anything (I'm convinced of it) that he sets his mind to. It wasn't an inexpensive endeavor, but how many people can say they can make a light fixture?! He's brilliant, check it out:

We covered the beds with plastic to create a sort of green house affect. The set sitting on the radiator (which should be good, the warmth) doesn't seem to be showing any results, but the other set has quite a few little sprouts, like these little guys:

I believe these are the gooseberry tomatoes, which I'm super-excited about. They're plump yellow cherry tomatoes. Yummy!

With the exception of the smell of soil permeating our main living space, and the fact that I'm sure our neighbors will think we're growing pot, it's pretty exciting to have this little setup right here to watch everyday. I really hope we're successful at getting at least a little bit of each of the things we planted, so that we can transplant to a big, full garden Memorial Day weekend (I read that that's the ideal time for the soil).

Wish us luck!