Let the Sowing Begin!

Thyme starting to sprout

Spring starting was on my mind a few weeks ago when I started to hear the cardinals and house finches singing. Slowly the woodpeckers started drumming, and I could see more robins than what were likely the winter holdovers. And, just like that the red-winged blackbirds appeared. Which is was my signal to enact the garden plans. 

This year’s garden is a mixture of excitement and anxiety. Having rural property means I can drastically expand the number of plants, but - and it’s a big BUT - the land is over an hour from our current home. So, tending, weeding and harvesting is going to be quite the task, especially in a newly formed garden where the weeds will often need to be culled. I won’t even get into the fact that we’ll also be busy building a house this summer. Nevertheless, I’m ambitious - probably foolishly so. For indoor sowing only, I’m looking to have a total of 9 trays (mixture of 72 cell and 50 cell trays). 

Last year, I haphazardly tried astrological planting (planting roots, leaves, flowers, and fruits in specific signs), but with us moving, I didn’t really get the full effect. So, this year, I’m trying my hand at it again. I figure if nothing else, it helps to break up the gardening work, while also keeping veggie varieties on my mind when needed. 

Here’s a quick explanation of the resources I used for planning because, in all honestly, I am not well-versed in Astrology. So, I’m going to show you what I used for those interested in trying this method out, but feel overwhelmed on where to start.

For general indoor and outdoor planning as well as transplanting, I used the online planting tool from the online Farmers Almanac. It’s a great way to get a general concept of when to plant based on needed growing times and frost dates. 

Then, to determine the best actual day to plant, I used the Mood & Garden app. This app has been tremendously helpful. Last year, I was working off of several pages of paper, reviewing notes I’d taken from many books on when to plant potatoes, tomatoes, etc. But, this app does all the work for you. Any efficiency I can find - I’ll take it! 

To quickly recap, here’s what I have sowed indoors so far:

• On Wednesday, March 17th

  • Bell Peppers - 40 cells; 5 varieties (Hot Pepper, Chervena Chuska, Aurora, Wisconsin Lakes, King of the North)

  • Celery - 10 cells; 1 variety (Tall Green)

  • Oregano - 18 cells; 1 variety (Greek)

  • Rosemary - 12 cells; 1 variety

  • Thyme - 12 cells; 1 variety

  • Lavender - 18 cells; 1 variety

  • You’ll note I have a mixture of plants here - fruits, leaves, flowers - so already not off to a good start, but it gets better! This was before I utilized the Moon & Garden app.

• On Monday, March 22nd,

  • Broccoli - 15 cells; 1 variety (Belstar)

  • This one was questionable for me since broccoli is technically the pre-flower, but I figured it fit best.

• On Tuesday, March 23rd, LEAFY GREENS

  • Cabbage - 25 cells; 2 varieties (Famosa, Red Kalibos)

  • Brussel Sprouts - 10 cells; 1 variety (Dagan)

  • Kale - 54 cells; 3 varieties (Dwarf Blue, Lacinato, Halboher Grune)

  • Basil - 72 cells; 5 varieties (Purple, Globe, Isle of Naxos, Genovese, Lettuce Leaf)

My next tray will be tomatoes on the 27th. And, THAT will be a fun one. 

Stay tuned, and happy sowing!