Seed starting has begun!

Happy Valentine's Day!   And seed starting has begun!  

I might be jumping the gun with the seeds this year, but with this long cold Winter that just won't east up, I really needed to have some sense that Spring will (eventually) come by doing something gardening related.  And thus seed starting is the closest thing I can get to at this point.

According to the gardening book I read recently, peppers are the first on the list.  Here we have yellow bell pepper and cayenne pepper.  I haven't had a very good harvest with yellow bell peppers in the past few seasons and I think one of the main reasons is that I start the seeds too late.  And since our planting season is so short here in Toronto, the late starter pepper plant doesn't have enough time to fully develop and pump out a good crop of peppers.  So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that by starting these indoor a good month and a half earlier than I usually do, I will get a decent size plant by the time it's warm enough to transfer the plants outdoors.  

Keep your fingers crossed for me!  :)

~ Rebecca

Preparation

Time to get planning!  After reading a few excellent gardening books by Gayla Trail and learning about some excellent gardening hints and tips, I'm all ready to think gardening!  First, let's do some organizing....

With the slightly disappointing planting season last year (not entirely my fault - the weather really did not cooperate), this time around I'm going to start specific seeds as early as possible - in this case it's peppers, eggplants, and tomatoes.  I've started my seed starting and planting chart (above) to get myself organized,  but also to review my seed inventory and figure out what seeds I need to replenish.

Speaking of seeds, do other gardeners have the same problems of buying / collecting too many seeds?  It takes me a few seasons to fully finish using a packet of seeds, but every year I still have the urge to buy more (seed hoarder?).  I buy almost all my seeds from Urban Harvest - they carry heirloom and organic seeds with varieties that are tried and tested for planting in our climate zones (on top of that it's a good way to support local businesses).

Summary for today:
- seed planting schedule:  check
- buy new seeds - done.
- collect and clean planting vessels (this weekend)....

Almost there! :)

~ Rebecca