Starting from scratch

This year, I'm growing my own.  A poor gentleman gardener can go broke trying to buy all the plants needed to fill four garden plots.  In past years, I have provided enough financial support with my purchase of flats of marigold, vinca, snapdragon, dahlia, celosia, an assortment of perennials, not to mention  soil amendments,  fertilizer, plain old topsoil and various other plant growing concoctions from my local garden shops that I have their Christmas card lists. While I have no illusions that this year I will once again be crossing the palms of my local plant suppliers with gold, I decided this would be the year to start some plants from seed.  Aside from my economic motivations, I am also curious, just how much more interesting can gardening be when one begins at the beginning?

As simple as this idea sounds, previous attempts on my part to coax plants to grow from seed to maturity have met with less than stellar results.  It appears there is more to the process than just flinging some seeds to the ground, drenching them with water and wishing them well.  Certainly this method can yield a few plants but for me, the result have always been less than desired and I never seem to get the kind of full, luscious blooms that appear on the front of most seed packages.  Gee, I wonder why?

Clearly a more formal and structured approach is in order.  But now, how to begin?

Whilst wandering through my local Home Depot one Saturday morning in early February, I happened upon a display of seed starting kits and a wealth of seeds, for both flowers and vegetables.  This seemed the answer to my quandary.  Easy, quick, no muss, no fuss....Excellent!

With enthusiasm  I called my wife who was shopping next door.  "Honey, I've got this great idea..."  Most of my adventures start out with those words.  We've been married a long time, she is used to such beginnings and is very patient.

To be fair to myself, I know very well that product packaging not withstanding, successfully growing a crop of plants from seed is not going to be quite as easy as it sounds (see paragraph #2 above).  So, standing among the peat pots, seed packages and kits, I began to think about what might be involved in my new project.  Clearly some research was in order.

There are many books available about starting plants from seeds.  One book I found particularly interesting was Nancy Bubel's The New Seed Starter's Handbook.  If this sort of a project is new to you as well, this is a good place to start.