Let's Get This (Planting) Party Started!

As I detailed in this post, I have an enthusiastic,

but not green thumb.

However, I try to learn from my mistakes,

and wanted to try once more to fill my garden with edibles.

I was going to do what I had done last year -- attach a fluorescent shop light

to two sawhorses,

and then...

via Pinterest...

I saw this:

It's... it's... BEAUTIFUL.  And simple.  And space saving.

I HAD TO DO IT.

It was easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy to put together wire shelves, attach lights,

and set the whole thing up in the Girl's unused bedroom.  (She's away at college.)

Then, it was time for the fun part:

starting the seeds!

I had... a few...

So I gathered my containers:

my potting soil:

... and got planting!

Last year, I had a lot of success with yogurt containers.

I started a bunch of tomato plants and basil plants in them, and they worked out well.

The only problem is, they're round, and so they don't fit as nicely in 

the cardboard cat food trays as I would like.

So this year, I thought I'd try something else, too.

I had a LOT of rectangular feta cheese containers:

I put seeds at both ends, so I figure I could get at least two plants out of each container.

Do you know what I didn't put in either of these containers, though?

HOLES.

Yup, I'm livin' on the edge.  I've never over-watered a plant,

but I've certainly lost them to under-watering. I just put nice, moist potting soil

in the containers, and water them when the top dries out.  It worked pretty well last year.

Left over from last year were these peat pots I bought and didn't have much success with.

I think I tried... carrots? in them last year?  But they didn't work.  They kept drying out.

This year, I'm placing them in an empty plastic container, to keep them moister.

Also, I used them for the zucchini seeds.  I guess zucchini is supposed to be direct-sown,

but since my gardening area isn't ready yet, I figured this would be the next best thing.

Something cool I'm trying this year is this:

It's this nifty little wooden gadget that makes newspaper pots to start seedlings.

I got it for the Girl off of Etsy last year, but sadly the buyer is no longer there.

You can find more of them on the Wide Wide World of Web, though.


ETA:  Check out my next post to see how these newspaper pots are faring.

Last year, the Girl and I tried these on a sunny windowsill and outside, but they didn't work.

I'm hoping that cramming them all together inside under the lights will keep them moist

and ready to grow:

What's the plan when these get bigger?

I'll transplant some, use the plastic containers that I used for the zucchini peat pots for others, and I'll also use these:

 They're free, and a great size for the tomato plants!

Btw, what didn't I use?

Egg cartons:

I tried those last year, with no success.  Maybe they'd work better inside,

but there's about a tablespoon of potting soil in each cup!

They dry out so quickly!  The poster did fine, so, y'know, it could just be me.

There you go.  Wish me luck with my new plantings!