This year, I decided to try a new method for starting my seeds. This is a mini-greenhouse that is portable and easy to make. I bought this clear storage tote for less than ten dollars and I drilled a few water drainage holes in the bottom. I then planted seeds in a nutrient-rich greenhouse soil, and labeled each cup for its contents before setting them inside the tote and replacing the lid.
This is the first round of seeds. I have them sitting in front of my heated fireplace in my room, underneath a grow-light, also next to the south-facing window for natural sunlight. Once these seeds germinate and begin to grow, I will separate them out into larger pots and move them to a bigger tote in my make-shift greenhouse in my garage I set-up last year under a dome I created from grow-lights underneath thermal wilderness survival emergency blankets, plastic sheets, and space heaters.
Note: I will place this entire container in my bathtub to water these plants and allow the excess water to drain before returning to its place in my room. I also have the option to fill in around these seed containers with soil to make them stationary and take root in this tote, as I used natural, disintegrating cups.
I have many more seeds to start. I will be starting two more totes just like this one, and as I rotate seedlings to my larger greenhouse space in the garage as they grow, I can reuse these totes in my room. It's not the huge greenhouse of my dreams I hope to have up and running next year, but it will do in the meantime to get my outdoor garden going.
This first round contains my medicinal herbs, such as Chamomile and Catnip, as well as some Sunflowers. I also have my lettuces and root vegetables in this first round because they can go into the ground first. I will update as the seeds grow, especially when we get close to planting because we will do so in sync with the moon cycle, at the most optimal time for each plant.
Mach's Gut! Sehn eich schpeeder.
by Gretchen Swank; 2/7/2023
Exciting!