Monday, January 28, 2013

Why I don't start seeds indoors

The first year I had my own garden, I went all in.

I purchased seeds for peas, carrots, green beans, lettuce, broccoli, peppers, watermelon, zucchini and maybe more that I can't remember.

It was waaaay too much for me to start with.

I had visions of grandeur as I pictured my mom's huge flourishing garden, and reminisced about the seeds she would start indoors during the cold snowy winter.

I started seeds indoors that year. Broccoli, peppers, and watermelon. I had this cute little hutch I'd gotten at the local Meijer (along with my seeds that year) that lived on our dining room table (the best access we had to a window facing south).
Photo by Rachel Ross
I had the cutest little spindly green plants popping up. They grew and grew. Finally it was warm enough to transplant them outside.

Let's just say it was a total loss.

I had a couple broccoli plants survive, but they bolted before I could harvest the tiny crowns they produced. The pepper plants all died. The watermelon plants all died.

Oh and even though I didn't start the peas and lettuce indoors, those plants all got eaten by some little creature...

It was a rough first year.

Now that we are in a new house, I've decided to forego starting seeds indoors -- at least momentarily, perhaps forever. I don't have a decent place to put starter trays in a southern-facing window. And the time and money I devoted to it before just isn't worth it to me.

There are some vegetables that I will gladly buy from a farmers market. They include broccoli, peppers, and watermelon. Oh and sweet corn (that's a story for another day...)

Do you start seeds indoors? 

4 comments:

  1. We tried starting seeds indoors, but found it a big fat pain. We don't have many south-facing windows, our old house is cold, and it took a whole lot of time. We have found that buying little plants is a much better way to go.
    We have also found broccoli and corn to be difficult. We live in Indiana for crying out loud. We can buy corn at five different places within a 3 minute drive.

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    1. Exactly! I'm in Michigan and have some farm stands not too far from us that sell amaaaaaize-ing (pun intended) sweet corn!

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  2. I do--it's a tricky thing that requires a bit of experimentation to get exactly right, but I like trying! I've had tremendous success with squashes and peppers.

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    Replies
    1. That's great! I know many many people who've had success with it -- like my mom -- it's just not for me [yet] :)

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