Start a garden indoors

#MiddleburyCT #VegetableGarden #Seniors

The many feet of snow on the ground where I live is an indication of just how far I am from starting a vegetable garden this year. However, it’s not too early to start vegetable seeds indoors.

Not all vegetables are good candidates for starting inside from seed (root vegetables such as carrots won’t do well started in shallow containers), but peppers, onions and spinach are good candidates to start indoors. Later, I’ll add seedlings for more variety, including marigolds to repel garden pests.

On my to-do list:

• Schedule the guy with his tiller to come break up the ground in a month. There’s no sense in renting a heavy machine I’ll have no way to operate.
• Order a load of mulch for delivery later to be spread for weed control and preserving moisture in the soil.
• Cut the milk cartons I’ve saved over the winter into seed germination pots. A 3-inch depth will be deep enough – and they’re free. A layer of plastic wrap will serve as a humidity dome.
• Collect from my neighbor all the ice-pop sticks her grandchildren have left so I can use them as plant markers.
• Be sure the indoor grow light works, that I don’t need a new bulb.
• But most fun of all the things on my to-do list will be choosing the seeds and deciding what to grow. Catalogs have been arriving (they all also have websites), each more beautiful than the last.

If you have no yard, consider container gardening. If you have a sunny location, you can grow peas, strawberries, lettuce, potatoes, spinach and so much more right outside your door. Do an online search for “container vegetable garden” for advice on the size of containers to use, the type of soil and a list of vegetables that should not be planted next to each other.

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