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    Emily Fazio

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Gardening Jump Start

February 22, 2011

This summer will be my third full summer in the house; it’s going to be an ambitious one in terms of garden development. The soil’s light and sandy, and for the last two summers has been great for growing tomatoes, which my parents have graciously hand-delivered in as baby plants (they’re like storks with green thumbs).

It’s just about this time every year that they get seeds started, and Dad encouraged me to set up my own system in the basement. Normally I just wait until it’s spring, and let seeds sprout on a windowsill. This year, to see if I genetically inherited the green thumb, I did some shopping, and am now the proud owner of two lights with grow bulbs….

Matching light bases and 75W plant lights. Hopefully this is enough to get the job done.

…and all of these seeds!

15 packets of seeds. Wish me luck!

Granted, some of these are some leftover flower seeds from last year that I’ll put to good use again, but all in all, here’s what I’m hoping I can grow:

  • Edible: Basil (Caprese Salad!), Chives, Cilantro (Salsa!), Onions, Sugar snap peas, lettuce (yeah!), Pumpkins, zucchini, and pole beans!
  • Flowers: Nasturtiums (edible blossoms!), Butterfly weed, Zinnias, Poppies, Daisies, and Gaillardia!

Also, brand new soil. YEAH.

Seed starting potting soil; $3.97.

Side benefit, I’ll be able to give my weepy houseplants a kiss of warm sun-love under the brights before the weather really improves. Once the snow ceases and sun emerges, most plants find their way to the luxurious sunroom for, what I imagine feels comparable to a spa treatment after a winter hibernation.

More to come as setup commences. Any tips?

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DIY  / Gardening

Emily
I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. I've been a freelancer writer for 10+ years and you can find my work on popular home and garden sites, like HGTV.com. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note.

2 Comments


ginnie
February 22, 2011 at 11:53 am
Reply

How neat! I just picked up the window sill planter set from HomeDepot over the weekend when I was there to start off since I do NOT have a green thumb! I’m growing chives, cilantro, oregano, and parsley. It’s also a cute decorative set for the kitchen window. :)



    Emily
    February 23, 2011 at 12:05 pm

    Your herb selection sounds great :) I usually have basil, but having an assortment at my fingertips sounds luxurious. Are you going to share photos of the setup on your site?

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  • HI, I’m Emily

    Emily Fazio

    I'm a home improvement enthusiast, living a very merry DIY lifestyle. Follow me on facebook and instagram, or drop me a note if you'd like. I love notes.

    Thanks for visiting!

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    Pt. 2: Well before Halloween, the last of the garl Pt. 2: Well before Halloween, the last of the garlic went into the home garden: 10 rows [L>R] 6 whole Nootka Rose as an experiment, 3x8 Mennonite-grown cloves from Aman’s, and 6x8 (and, I think, total 112? notes are cryptic) “normal.”
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    Out of sight but [documented so it’s] not out of Out of sight but [documented so it’s] not out of mind! #garden2024 kicks off with my favorite biennial: elephant garlic! 15 cloves planted from small, to medium, to enormous. #gardennotes
    Annual garlic notes for #garden2023, pt. 1: this i Annual garlic notes for #garden2023, pt. 1: this is getting ooc, and I love it. 👩‍🌾🧑‍🌾

🧄 65% of the planting is in a new plot in the country. 🧄 Seeing if NR grows bigger with more sunlight. 🧄 Big @chasefarms cloves from 2021 were really productive in our home garden; can’t wait to see how they can show up next year in the new space. 🧄

Hand-turned a small bed, but big thanks to my sister, who rolled into town just in time to help me double its size (and did not complain once).
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    Annual garlic notes #garden2022 ~315 cloves total Annual garlic notes #garden2022
~315 cloves total
50 in new, unfenced garden
Still need thick mulch on everything
Did a terrible job tracking varieties when I harvested, so it’s all a mix of hardneck now 😒
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