This year's beginning:
Top: Roma tomatoes in jiffy pellets in pencil box germination module
Bottom: 2 kinds of basil in jiffy pellets in recycled 4-packs
Brought outside just long enough to water. None of these babies are ready for direct sunlight. Those seed leaves will burn super easy, then you get to start all over.
Super high-speed transplant station (leftover everything)
Secret seed starting juice from Wal-Mart (too lazy to drive to the grow store) or superthrive works too. 1 drop per liter of bottled water. Secret dollar tree soil plus some leftover perlite from previous pic used to fill 4-packs a few days after seeds germinate.
Total investment:
seeds $2
jiffy pellets $3
secret stuff: $6
Or you can go to the grow hut and pay a dollar apiece for plants in a month. I count about 50 here.
Not shown (still germinating in the dark on top of the refrigerator):
bell peppers: another $3 for two dozen
purple coneflowers: about the same (these sell for $2 or 3 each a month out)
Now is transplant time for perennial plants such as shrubs, sedum, hostas, daylillies, ornamental grass, hibiscus, etc. If you wait much longer, they will need to be watered to survive the summer. It rained a few inches last week, so the ground here is just sloppy, soggy, and loose. Transplanting is more like making pottery than shoveling dirt, but guess what? Once you stomp on your transplant, it molds perfectly level to the ground. Throw mulch over everything, water once with your favorite no-burn rooting formula and a watering can, and wait for shoots to emerge.
Haven't heard from the pilgrims on the dirt garden, but I broke ground two weeks ago. Still waiting on Mr green jeans to say when he plans on coming to rototill the plot with the mean green machine. I gladly pay him the following Tuesday to do in 15 minutes what would take me all day with the troy-bilt. I'm sure the hippies and tourists will show up Kentucky derby weekend.