A fellow grower shared that she was anxious to get growing again and was already thinking about the plant starts she was going to buy for Summer (formerly known as Spring). When I told her that I don’t buy starts and grow everything from seed, she was emphatic that I’m “ABSOLUTELY CRAZY”. It may sound even crazier, but in January, we begin Summer seed starting. It can take at least four weeks for most plants grown from seed to get up to size, so we must begin early. Timing is crucial for seed starting as the warmer weather will be in full swing before we know it!

At the indoor nursery this month, I largely focused on starting our:

• second round of brassicas (broccoli, lettuce, collards, etc.)
• medicinal plants (toothache plant, horehound, echinacea, etc.)
• perennial herbs (thyme, sage, oregano, etc.)
• edible flowers (cosmos, snapdragons, dahlias, etc.)
• all the basil varieties (lime, cinnamon, licorice, etc.)

To level up this year’s indoor seed starting, I invested in timers for growlights automation, a higher capacity water spray pump bottle for overhead misting, and additional shelving systems for increased growing space.

Outside on the farm, I’ve done some Winter sow containers using empty jugs sourced last year.

So far, the Winter sow jugs include:

• German Chamomile
• Valerian
• Garlic Chives
• Snapdragon flowers
• Dill
• Calendula flowers
• Cilantro
• Yarrow
• Astragulus flowers

Lastly, I started converting one of our guest rooms into our new propagation room. This south-facing, upstairs room is perfect for our cuttings and seedlings to get the dappled sunlight and warmth they need to thrive until they can go outside.

Shannon’s co-workers are now collecting their empty jugs for us, so I’ll Winter sow more containers on the farm as they come in. I’ll also continue sowing seeds in the indoor nursery to have a continuous source of backup plant starts (just in case🙃). Next week, I will begin sowing seeds in the indoor nursery for our Summer vegetables. Of course, I’ll do our favorites from last year – Black Beauty eggplant, Sweet Banana pepper, Jalapeño pepper, Black Cherry tomato, Nasturtium, and more. I’m excited to try growing new varieties this year like Apple Luffa, Pink Celery, Amaranth, Tree Collard, and more. I’m always looking to discover some new faves! And, despite the MAJOR L I took on growing melons last year, I’m entering this new year cautiously optimistic and will be sowing various melon seeds (🤞🏾🫣).

Growing plants from seed actually isn’t crazy at all, but does require space and time. I’m grateful to have both🙏🏾. For our neighbors who do not, I’ll be offering some of our beautiful plant starts locally. Make sure you’re following our online store to know when our plants drop!