Garden proto-plans

I'm getting started on the garden plans ASAP this year so there's plenty of time.

New seeds!  Because addiction!

I ordered 8 new types of seed:  Yoden's German yellow tomato, egg yolk tomato, fordhook zucchini, white scallop squash, mexican sour gherkin cucumber, lavender, broad leaf sage, attila strawberry.  Baker creek heirloom seeds for the win!  I still have a ton of seed left from last year, so let's hope it's all still viable.


And then, I swallow my pride.

Maybe I'm a one-trick sprouting pony.

About a decade ago I used to work in a greenhouse, and did excellently with growing plants from seed to maturity... but I also had actual greenhouse supplies and wasn't trying to direct-seed anything.  Since last year was such an epic failure, I figured that it'd be worth it to invest in some actual supplies.  I took to Amazon and got the same stuff I used to work with:

• Plant trays, 5 with holes, 5 without
• Plant starter cells to fill those trays... 120 large (for tomatoes/squash/etc) and 144 small (for lettuce/herbs/etc).  Came with a few plant labels.
• Organic seed starter mix

This'll be complemented by supplies I already have:

• Solarium on the house = natural light source and extra warmth (aiming for 60-70 degrees)
• One mini fluorescent greenhouse light (about 2 feet wide) and a timer = light source to hang 3 inches above plants for 16 hours a day.  This is really only enough for 1-2 trays. 
• Fan = agitation to make the seedlings sturdy
• One dining table (we have 2, to make a long table) covered in plastic = plant stand for the 5 trays
• Watering can & spray bottle
• Makeshift plastic wrap sprouting domes = humidity for sprouting
• Reptile heat mat and rope xmas lights for under-tray germination heating
• Plant labels
• Larger 4-inch pots left over from previously purchased plants

I may need to invest in actual fluorescent lighting during early spring, but so far this is a much more professional start.  I'll be planting a new batch of seeds every week or two in an attempt to have continuous harvests, so I should be able to empty and refill one tray every few weeks.


But then, it's back to the original plan.

Click HERE for the full plan.

Since I worked so hard on planning out the optimal garden layout last year, and I still have most of that seed, I will just add in my new seed and attempt to do the plan.  Shouldn't be hard, since I blogged the plan last year and still have my SmartGardener layout ready.

According to last year's SmartGardener plan, I start the earliest seedlings around February 8th, but put garlic in the soil (mostly for the delicious greens) February 1st!  That leaves me a month to:

• Dig through the soil 6 inches deep to remove all the cutworms (ugh, I started on this just a little and there are a TON)... Stormy likes to help with this.
• Harvest the last of the greens and turnips currently in the beds, and trim back the mint.
• Amend the soil.  This time I'm adding the full 2 inches of compost, mixed 8 inches deep.
• Finalize the garden layout.
• Set up the solarium for wintry sprouting fun.

Here's hoping that the 2015 garden is miraculously bountiful, and that I have so many healthy vibrant seedlings that I am forced to give extras away to whoever is willing to take them. 

Wish me luck!