Believe it or not the time is nearly here!
That’s right we are 6 days out from seed starting. Now of course we won’t be starting our, May plant seeds just yet, but our cold weather sows, it is time!
Here at the Homestead, we are trying several cold weather sows, for early planting this year. Typically we hold our colds until August but being that we need such high quantities of plants and harvests this year we will be doing both an early spring and fall planting.
What are good cold weather sows? When do you plant them? Every region is different in both what and when to plant, it is the curse and blessing of gardening bloggers. We love to share with you our enjoyment, triumphs, and gardens but what works for me in the Northeast in January will be different for you if you’re from the Southwest, or even further north than myself. But let’s talk about what some good hardy and semi hardy cold weather sows there are.
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
English peas
Kale
Spinach
Turnip
These guys here, they’re hardy against frost and can withstand temps into the high 20’s. These are good beginning of March planters here in zone 6.
Beets
Carrot
Cauliflower
Irish potatoes
Lettuce and gourmet salad greens
These semi-hardy plants are good in temps around the low to mid 30’s.
It’s important to note though NOT ALL OF THESE TRANSPLANT WELL! Things like you peas you’re going to want to hold off on, and directly plant them in the ground. Beets can be a difficult transplant, so if you haven’t tried before with beets you may want to hold them off as a direct planting as well as to not waste viable seed.
Starting seeds at home there are probably a MILLION different ways that you can do it and information on how to build many methods is readily available on the internet or YouTube. You can also buy peat pots, or jiffy pots and starter trays at many retailers like Walmart.
Last year I showed you how you could use popular plastic egg cartons and water bottles to create your own mini green houses.
This year I am going to be using store bought peat cups. I picked up a few multipacks at Walmart, I also picked up some smaller size cups at the Dollar Tree.
Our project focus easily this season though is going to be making a growing cabinet. Now unfortunately at my house I don’t have a great place inside to put a greenhouse or even a good south facing window with enough flat surface to have space for all my seedlings. Be sure to come back this afternoon we will be sharing with you a supply list and schematics for our cabinet!
The Homestead Transformation 