Operation Garden: Day 2

The garden has been watered today and (obviously) there are no signs of sprouting yet, as the seeds germinate.

My one worry is that the basement is too cold. The tutorial we saw recommended rope lights underneath to keep the seedlings warmer. I will have to see what happens. The good news is that the cats can't get down there and eat my seedlings like the previous years!

I will update with a list of what we are growing tomorrow!

Operation Garden: Day 1

We are trying to truly make our gardening a sustainable, organic and cost-saving endeavor this year. The past three years we have bought a variety of seedlings from my neighbor's greenhouse (all of which are organic and amazing!), but always have supplemented it with seedlings from Menards and other nurseries (at least $75 worth). We have done seeds in the past but they have never worked out with the exception of the beans and peas. They either die or don't get enough sun or get eaten by the cats.

This year we set up a growing station in our basement with a full spectrum light and mini-greenhouses. In addition to starting all our herbs and a few of our veggies, we are trying to start all of our annual flowers. Each summer I spend at least $150 on my annuals and dirt for my container garden and around the house. We are trying our hand at starting them from seed to see if we can do it and save some money in the process.

So far I think we spent about $50 on everything (dirt, seeds, greenhouses, light bulbs, chain for the light). With the help of Melissa and the sidelines cheerleading of Ryan, Miles, Nick and Amy we got all of our seeds planted and tucked away in the basement. So far we have over 100 cells planted.

I am hoping to keep a journal of what works and doesn't work for what we are lovingly calling "The Basement Garden."

Stay tuned!