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Shifting My Sights

January 17th, 2013

With most of my seed orders in, I’m now shifting my sights on setting up my seed starting area. Originally, I planned on putting it up in the garage, but the ducks are currently residing in the space I was planning on using. Our new basement has a double door with big windows, so I’m thinking that will be the perfect spot to set up my stuff.
Potting Bench Supplies
All of the potting supplies have been carried down from the garage, it’s like Christmas looking through them. I’m not quite sure when I’ll be starting things, generally I have my onions started by now, I may wait until closer to the end of January for those. The celery will be started as soon as possible, I’m just waiting on a few supplies from my local Agway to mix up my seed starting mix. There will also be few pots of lettuce and herbs seeded to get me through the rest of winter. I can hardly wait to get going!

Have you started any seeds yet?

I’m in the process of writing an ebook about Seed Starting, stay tuned for that.

13 Comments to “Shifting My Sights”
  1. Brenda on January 17, 2013 at 6:04 am

    I just read back on your seed starting mixture post and was amazed at the point you made about having wet mixture to star with, I have never heard of this and my mix is always dry, I then water it when I have planted my seeds, having it wet to begin with makes much more sense and seems so obvious! xbrenda

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  2. Jennifer Fisk on January 17, 2013 at 7:31 am

    I just placed a fairly substantial, for me anyway, order with Pine Tree in New Gloucester. I usually use all Johnny’s and High Mowing but PT had Packman Broccoli and Mortgage Lifter Tomato so I went for resupply from them. I probably won’t start any seeds until March as I find the seedlings tend to get leggy if started too early. On the other hand, that isn’t a bad thing with tomatoes since you can bury a lot of the pant and get a better root growth.

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  3. Melissa on January 17, 2013 at 8:37 am

    I’ve almost run out of seed starting space and it’s only January! I set up a cold frame to be like a mini greenhouse in the garden area to hold some of my overflow. Need to finish one more seed order from Johnny’s and I’ll be finished, hopefully,

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  4. MountainMisty on January 17, 2013 at 9:15 am

    Oh an ebook! I can hardly wait!!

    Reply to MountainMisty's comment

  5. Beth K on January 17, 2013 at 9:20 am

    I’m a little disappointed that my mudroom isn’t finished and that I probably won’t be able to use it for starting any seeds this year like I had planned. I hope to use the windowsill over the kitchen sink to start a few things, though! I probably should start some onion seed soon. :-) And order the rest of my seeds!

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  6. Robin on January 17, 2013 at 9:50 am

    I’m ready to start seeds but it’s too early here. Ordinary containers are starting to look like mixed greens containers so I think I’ll fill something with medium and worm castings and grow a pot of greens. That might ease the urges.

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  7. Jaye on January 17, 2013 at 11:01 am

    I’ve started a few things already here in N. Texas, all inside of course at this point. I don’t usually have good luck with starting inside, but try every year to help cut back on costs.

    Also, this year I’m starting some herbs inside, boldly going where I’ve never gone before…!

    I’ve found that several already have onion transplants in the ground. I’ve picked some up, but haven’t put them in yet – soon though!

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  8. Donna B. on January 17, 2013 at 11:21 am

    Oh, I can’t wait to see the new seed starting area!
    I haven’t started any just yet… I’m thinking of doing grasses/flowers earlier this time because last year I started the veggies wayyyyy too soon! hehehe.
    But I’m feeling some salad greens… maybe I can rig an under-the-cabinet lighting and grow some veggies on my arm kitchen countertop! :D

    Eeee! I can’t wait to get my hands on your eBook! I have a… Kindle? [I’m not all high-tech just yet… all these handheld readers are too much for me…] so it would be nice read while I’m resting down for bed!

    Reply to Donna B.'s comment

  9. KimH on January 17, 2013 at 12:22 pm

    Very cool on the ebook, Susie.. Looking forward to it..

    I havent started any seeds yet.. I havent even looked at any seeds or seed catalogs yet either.. Terrible I know
    I’ve got to call our local garden center.. They sell packet seeds for 1/2 off either in Jan or Feb.. cant remember which.. they carry many brands including Seed Savers and other organic seed so that is where I’ve bought most of my seed in the past few years… though I’ve saved some of my own seeds too.
    I cant put any seeds in the big garden till Memorial Day weekend so Im not in any hurry to get any seeds started..

    How long do you grow your onion slips before you plant them?

    I’d love to get a handle on growing onion from seed.. I always wind up killing them with too much water. Maybe I’ll try to winter sow them and see what happens.

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  10. Andres Stell on January 17, 2013 at 3:51 pm

    I haven’t started any seeds yet, but plan to by the end of the month. I too just recently moved this fall, so I need to re-set up my seed starting area, which I am happy to say will have a lot more space now. My seed starting area used to be squeezed into the bedroom closet, then we moved, and was able to go in the laundry room, which was an improvement, but not all that much more space. Now I a have a whole section of our unfinished basement, with a laundry sink nearby for a water source, and my architectural drafting table, that is now going to be my working/potting bench.

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  11. daisy on January 17, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    I have some lettuce and garlic going now and look forward to starting some seeds soon.
    Can’t wait to see what you’ve got going there!

    Reply to daisy's comment

  12. EL on January 18, 2013 at 12:54 am

    It’s still a bit early here. I am waiting for leek seeds and do hope to start those early. I also am waiting for celeriac. I assume it can be started early.

    I always have cat grass growing during the winter (wheatgrass). I’ve tried the lettuce, but it never seems to work well indoors for me. I generally try some native plants as well because they can be especially tricky (It makes a cool seed starting puzzle to get some of them to grow).

    Generally here, most of my seeds I start in March at the earliest. Pea pods are planted during a late winter thaw generally so that they get snowed in for a few weeks (seems to do them good).

    Reading about all this is making it hard to wait.

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  13. The Prudent Homemaker on January 22, 2013 at 12:54 am

    I planted in the garden today: spinach, lettuces, mache, French Breakfast radishes, Swiss chard, yellow onions, sugar snap peas and a blueberry bush.

    Reply to The Prudent Homemaker's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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