In the presence of seedlings…

I can't explain how good it feels to be in the presence of seedlings. I heard this once said about being in the presence of cows. It is just soothing to your soul. To go out to my grow room in the early mornings to water and fuss over them is the most precious time of day for me.

If you have witnessed a zinnia baby being born or a tomato seedling pushing his head up through the soil- you know what I'm talking about. If not, you are in for a treat. Then, to care for them and bring them along to produce for you, brings to light the miracle that it is.

Starting seeds is addictive and totally fun.

My 10 x 10 grow room is part on my workshop and is south facing with many windows for maximum light. The building is heated and this room is always extra toasty which my seedlings especially love. The walls are lined with shelving units with grow lights on each shelf. I can grow about 12,000 at one time with a squeeze using the soil blocking method.

I've started my annual "panic" seeds last week. Those are more of the hardy annuals that I planted in the fall, but can also be planted in early spring. Why am I planting more? Because every year at this time I look at those I planted in the garden and they appear dead. As anyone would that spent all of their time outdoors in 20 degrees temperatures all winter. So I panic, thinking my plantings are dead (this is my 12th year of doing this) and start more seeds to replant. These are the cash crop for the first couple of months of our operation.

My sister, Suzanne pretty much wants to slap me when this happens every year because this is how the story ends: the plants aren't dead. Just the top growth has died back. Once the weather begins to warm, they regrow and all is well in paradise…except that I now have twice as many of what ever plants as we could sell planted in the garden that still has to be harvested, bunched, sold…

She thinks this is my way of being able to start seeds a little earlier in the season, but that is not it at all…

Spring is just around the corner!

Lisa Z
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