After spending $50 last year on a few tomato, zucchini and pepper plants, I decided to get an earlier and less expensive start this year with seeds.
I filled 72 tiny pots on three trays with an organic mix of topsoil and compost. The trays went on my dining room table in front of a south-facing window and I confidently pushed a couple of seeds just below the surface in each pot.
I watered and waited.
A few days later the Chinese cabbage sprang from their pots, ready for spring. A couple of squash plants poked their green heads out of the soil. The other 60 pots showed no sign of life.
I asked four experts on the subject and got five different answers. But soil heat and light seemed to be issues. Rather than spending more money on seed tray warmers or a grow light, I found an old desk lamp and trained it on the trays. I have one tomato thinking about sprouting, as well as some bashful chile peppers playing peek-a-boo.
The lesson in all this? Experience is the best teacher. And this experience will make these vegetables all the tastier come August. — Deb Neeley
Find more info on seed starting:www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk /1034.html
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