Itchin' To Start

 

So it's that time of year again.  We all get very excited when February is coming to an end.  You can find Jason in the basement hovering over the seed collection practically drooling over the idea of starting them.  We tend to get overly enthusiastic and start way more seeds than we can possibly stuff into our garden space, but what can I say?  We're optimistic and a tad ambitious when it comes to growing our garden.  This year I decided we would get organized and have a garden plan and schedule.  I think this has made it much easier for us to decide, A. how much we can plant and B. where we can find space to plant it.  Because we have such a small place we practice succession planting to keep a steady supply of greens, root veggies, peas and beans in rotation all season long.  So first we will start seeds for those plants that can stand the cooler spring weather and survive a frost or two that always seem to surprise us even though we know how unpredictable Pittsburgh's weather can be.  Once the garden's ground is workable we'll throw seed down there too.  

Here's a list of what we started first.

 

1.  red and golden beets  
2.  swiss chard
3.  fancy baby lettuces
4.  leeks
5.  broccoli
6.  cabbage
7.  basil
8.  rosemary
9.  cilantro
10.  spinach
 11.  sorrel 







And after a few weeks here's what ye' olde plant stand looked like with our babies all snuggled in tight.