Balcony Garden: Starting from Seeds!

I have tried, with some success, to grow edible plants on our apartment balcony. I dream of one day having enough space to grow all of the local fruit, vegetables, herbs, and nuts that our family needs. In the meantime, practice makes perfect! Usually, I purchase plants already well underway from Home Depot or a local farmer's market. I've done this literally three times in the last six years and have mainly had success growing basil and chives with a few sprinkles of bell peppers, sage, thyme, and oregano. If you are looking for something easy to grow, start with chives. Seriously. No amount of lack of care or abundance of snow can hurt that hearty little herb!

If I ever hope to have my own backyard victory garden I really need to step up my growing game. I'm keeping a journal of my experience, calling it my "Garden Guide", so I can learn from my mistakes, repeat my successes, and have everything I need for future attempts all in one place.

In order to step things up, for the first time ever, I am starting plants from seeds! I did some research to figure what I should plant and when I should plant it. To get the most out of our Virginia growing season, the time to start planting certain veggies indoors is now. I'm starting with bell peppers, roma tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and some lettuce varieties.

This should be everything I need to get started: seeding soil mix, water spray bottle, seeding trays, a pen and painters tape for labeling, seeds, and a luck pumpkin. Yes, a lucky pumpkin. Logan picked this pumpkin in OCTOBER and it is still thriving! I think he found the fountain of youth at Homestead Farms. We aren't storing it any special way and Logan plays with it on a regular basis, so I'm calling it a miracle. My garden will likely need a miracle.

I poured about an inch and a half of water into the bottom tray of the seeding tray, filled all of the little pods with seeding soil then planted a little seed in each pod according to the directions on the packet, which was 1/4 inch deep for each.

Each veggie is taking up two rows. I made a label for each veggie indicating type and the date.

Then, I used the spray bottle to moisten all the soil so it can absorb water from the top and bottom. I covered the tray with the lid that came with it (you can also use plastic) and placed it in a window in our bedroom. We aren't using this desk for anything right now and it's right in front of the window and the heater, so it's the perfect spot for tricking these plants into thinking it's spring.

If everything goes well, these should be ready to transfer outdoors in April, after the last frost. Next week, I will start planting some herbs and follow it with different veggies every couple of weeks.

Wish me luck as I attempt to turn my brown thumb green!