Seedlings

Now is the time to start sowing your seeds indoors for your garden.  Up here in the north country it is anyway... where it's still cold...where we're still wearing our winter coats... where it snowed the past 4 days.  In warmer climates you can just sow in the ground.  But where it's chilly & there is a short growing season it is best to start your seedlings in doors.

This indoor head start for your plants is great for their growth, but often not very attractive for your home decor. I saw this idea in one of my magazines.  Egg shells are easy enough to come by, but I thought I would never be able to afford the cute glass egg carton.  I was proven wrong when I came upon this one at Ross Dress For Less.  And it was less, only $3.  I snatch it up & started my indoor herb garden in it.  It's so sweet, & country, & Springy and looks good on the kitchen counter where it can soak up soft sunlight.

Once the seedlings are big enough to transplant simply break the shells up a bit & plant the whole thing.  The roots will remain stress free & the shells provide great nutrients to help you plants grow.  Happy planting!

Growing Project

One activity I love doing with my kiddos is planting.  It's always fun for them to dig in the dirt & watch the miracle of growing seeds.  I love it because gardening is one of my favorite hobbies.  Since Spring has been slow coming here in the Rockies we decided to do an indoor planting project.  I bought a different kind of flower for each child & helped them individually plant their seeds.

We set the plants in a sunny window & use glasses or cut the tops off plastic bottles to create a green house effect.  The sprouts shoot up within a couple days (depending on germination time).  The kids get so excited when they see a little green popping up through the dirt.  It is their responsibility to gently water their seedlings each day & remove the cover for a few hours in the afternoon so mold doesn't begin growing.  This is a creative & fun way to instill responsibility into the little ones.  It also teaches them about plants & growing.  My kiddos love seeing how the different kinds of seeds grow & look.  When the weather gets warm enough we will transplant the flowers into the garden so they can watch them grow into full bloom.

Fun, simple, quick & educational.  I like that.