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Seed Starting

Over the years we have had many gardens - some a sorry excuse, some quite bountiful.

 
Our very first garden we had a bumper crop of cantaloupes.  Dozens.  There were only two of us back then to eat them all.  The last time I planted cantaloupes we harvested 3 the size of a dolls head with 6 people wanting to eat them.  Many went hungry.

We have the space for a big garden, and we have the desire - at least at first - till the weeds start to grow.

One year #2 son planted a whole salsa garden and planned for the Fall canning season.

Yeah soooo... September is a long ways away from May, and that canning didn't happen.

Last year I planted some beans and tomatoes in pots right on the deck.  It helped with keeping the wildlife out of them, and they were easy to harvest.  That is the two cherry tomatoes from that one wimpy plant were easy to harvest.  I think I feasted right there beside the plant too.

With that ratio each of those cherry tomatoes cost me $1.25.

And one bean plant does not a family of 5 feed.

There's a tomato plant idea going crazy on HomeTalk that I'm going to try.  It looks like something I can accomplish with minimal prep.

Photo and idea belong to James Bryan from Kentucky
This year I've got basil growing in my kitchen window with the Click and Grow, and I have just a few various seeds started.  The garden will go in a new location, with yet again big plans.

Basil
I have been intrigued by all the Pinterest pins for folks starting seeds in their little plastic coffee K-cups.

The coffee I use in our Keurig doesn't have plastic cups and in my opinion the ones I'm using will be better for starting seeds.  Fingers crossed.

The whole little coffee filled cup is bio degradable and the bottom is a mesh fabric, perfect for seed starting.


I gathered some supplies and sent the youngest out for some dirt.

For the sake of our garden I had an extra cup of brew that morning.

Starting Seeds in Disposable Coffee cups, Bliss-Ranch.com

This wasn't rocket science...
I put the dirt in the little mesh cups and added two seeds each in case one didn't germinate.

Then I gave each a drink of water. The egg carton contained any mud I made.

Starting Seeds in Disposable Coffee cups, Bliss-Ranch.com

The seeds waiting to sprout are cucumbers, green beans, peas, and pumpkins.  The rest of what we plant we will sow right in the garden.

I covered the little egg carton with some plastic wrap to hold the heat in a bit since our three season porch is still cool.

Starting Seeds in Disposable Coffee cups, Bliss-Ranch.com

And now we wait.



24 comments :

  1. We're going to try a few veggies in the garden this year but don't have the patience for seeds. We also get tons of critters so trying to keep them out of it is going to be challenging!

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  2. I think the little pods are a fantastic idea!! And the egg carton to hold them. Let us know how they do. I tried starting veggies from seeds many times years and years ago when I first decided to have a veggie garden. No luck, they would get long and leggy and then shrivel up and die. I did better sowing them right into the garden.

    I like the idea of a salsa garden!! That and spaghetti sauce were the only things I ever canned when my garden was a success. I'm giving it a fresh start this year (the vegetable garden). Say a prayer for me!

    XO,
    Jane

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  3. I am determined to have some sort of garden this year! I used to have big gardens every year, but now we are so shady...

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  4. Sam always offers to pay me NOT to start a garden every year! LOL! Love your idea with the K-Cups...very clever!

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  5. I love this idea! I have never seen those cups. I will tell you this as a word of warning: if you have a Keurig now...do not replace it unless it breaks. The new ones will be made so that they ONLY take Keurig coffee pods. My husband is working on their new lids, and there's a sensor in the machine and in the lids so that you can ONLY use Keurig brand pods. Just a head's up! But I wish you more success withyour garden this year than I had with mine last year. Between the squirrels and the crows, I only got ONE tomato!

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  6. I've given up on gardening - I'm just too lazy to do the work. One year, I planned to grown various kinds of tomatoes to eat fresh and can for salsa, but I somehow managed to plant about 20 cherry tomato plants and we had cherry tomatoes coming out the wazoo. We did have one good garden one year, with corn, cantaloupe, watermelon and pumpkins, but that was when I had plenty of kids home to help with it. I have a pack of lavender waiting to be planted, but I'm too lazy to even get those seeds started. You've motivated me some though!

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  7. Nothing beats fresh veggies YUM!! I plant tomatoes & basil in large planters on our back deck...would love to do a larger garden put it would have to be fenced in so the deers wouldn't eat it.

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  8. You're way ahead of me! I better get to seeding :)
    Debbie

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  9. Nice procedures, I hope this summer offers up the weather to make it a banner harvest year for you. I grew cherry tomatoes in a pot once when I lived in a big city and only had a deck for my outdoor space. The raccoon that came every night and ate ALL of them was very pleased.

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  10. I've never grown anything from seeds before. The way you used those coffee brewing cups is great. Good luck with your garden!

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  11. I love the cantaloupe story - we've never tried growing melons! Our tomatoes made us so happy last year and then, due to army worms, we lost almost all of them. Damn bugs!
    It's time to plant our herb garden again too.

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  12. Our current yard situation is this - front yard = hill, back yard = two feet of ground then steep drop off into creek. So here is how this is going to go........ Amy and family travel up to Bliss Ranch and eat your produce because we can't grow our own.

    The end.

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  13. Looks like your off to a great start! We're planting ours tomorrow. We've always just planted seed straight in the ground with pretty good results. Except for cantaloupes. What's up with those? So finicky! Sometimes they produce well and then last year we had baby doll heads too LOL! We plant summer squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, corn and tomatoes and then fall peas. I really want to try pumpkins this year. I have no idea what they need. Happy planting Bliss!

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  14. I have never started anything from seed, I am to impatient. The need for instant gratification is big with me, LOL. You are one ambitious lady. Wishing you success with your garden this year.

    Cynthia

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  15. Hubs is making a few raised bed boxes this year, but other than that, we'll buy the fresh stuff at our Farmer's Market. Love your post with the expensive cherry tomatoes, the doll head cantaloupes and all the other funny stuff. Can't wait to see your end results :)

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  16. I've given up on a vegetable garden, mainly because the chickens (totally free range) enjoy the harvest long before it's ready for us to pick. Lately I've planted our must-have tomatoes in large containers to put on the hot, sunny courtyard (which is off limits for the chickens...unless they decide to fly over the fence)...but for some reason we never get the bounty like we do in the gardens...probably because it's so hot & sunny and I don't always water twice a day. We have so many farmers around us, with their roadside stalls, this year I'm not going to bother...I'll support our local farms. Good luck with yours this year! Your plans look like you'll have good eating this summer & fall!
    Debbie :)

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  17. Our yard it too shady for a veggie garden, but I've started seeds before back at my parent's house years ago and the most rewarding part was watching them all sprout. I'm no gardening expert, but it seems like starting them ahead like you are doing gives them a much better chance of surviving.

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  18. I think you are right, B- those will work much better than the plastic cups. The only thing I am ever successful at is jalapenos and lemons. That was before Bruce. That boy likes his greens. I would love to do a raised bed full of veggies but I think it would turn into a mud hut for the dogs!

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  19. Oh I would be waiting a mighty long time!

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  20. Our summer was so hot all of our crops except the pumpkins died. I have a pile of pumpkins now but nothing else. Too disheartened to do the autumn stuff we decided to rest the beds after the harsh summer and plant out the winter crops. Winter crops are usually just beans peas spinach and lettuce. Boring but they feed us. Good luck with the veggies.

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  21. OK that bucket thing is a good idea. I tried growing tomatoes the first year we lived here. Freaked me out because they tomatoes don't get red until August. Seems like such a waste....Going to try again this year.

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  22. I'm glad to see that the very expensive click and grow basil is coming along well.
    So veggies grow in a garden but everything else grows in the yard - intriguing, and are you growing stuff to put on pizzas ?

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  23. I have never planted a garden... but I like the idea of the k-cup seedlings! sharing with my daughter jamie who did a lot of flower seedlings this year. :)

    gail

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  24. I'm so screwed. I don't have a Keurig and I don't drink coffee. That must be why I suck at gardening.

    -and

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