starting seeds for your garden

When I was a little girl and read "The Secret Garden" for the first time, it had a very deep impact on me, and that question, "Might I have a bit of earth to plant a garden?" has been somewhat of a quest for my life.  I love plants - flowers, vegetables, trees, fruits, everything.  Okay, maybe not weeds.  But even some of the weeds starting to pop up in my yard have cute little flowers on them!

Our very first blossom of the season - a crocus flower that I rescued from the snow yesterday

Needless to say, I absolutely LOVE spring!  It means I get to start working in my garden again, and the world turns green and beautiful again.  So even though there are still patches of snow in my yard right now, I'm getting ready.  Last week I started some seeds for some of the cool season vegetables that I can plant out in the garden probably next week.  I'm so excited!

So I wanted to share a super easy way to start some of your seeds inside to get them ready for the garden.

Plant them in plastic strawberry containers.

Make sure they're the ones that are a bitt taller - at least 3".  Just fill the bottom about 2/3 with a seed starting soil (not potting soil) and plant the seeds following the instructions on the package.  Since the bottom already has holes, the water drains easily.  The lid keeps a bit more moisture in to help the seeds germinate, and to keep prying little fingers out of the dirt.  Just set them somewhere where they get some indirect sunlight, make sure they stay moist, and wait for the magic!  

*Caution - don't keep them in too much direct sunlight (like in a window) because they'll heat up too much being indoors, and the seeds won't grow.

One other useful thing about starting your seeds in strawberry containers, is that if you use a bigger one, you can start several different types of seeds, and just write on the lid what you planted where!  This is my "salad" container - 5 different types of lettuce and some spinach.

This is also a fun, easy project for young kids to help you with, and to teach them about how plants grow and such.  They can so easily participate and watch as they sprout and grow.  My little guy loves to point at and "touch soft" the little seedlings.  (He also tries to grab handfuls of dirt sometimes, so I have to watch closely!)