Starting Seeds

This is actually my Saturday blog. As it turns out, Saturday was so busy and exhausting I am having to write this on Sunday morning. My little one and I started our cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower seeds yesterday. Since she brought home her Pre-K class mascot, Elmer the Elephant, for the weekend, we recorded the process with the camera for Elmer's book. She was so excited! I had planned on starting some herb seeds also, but one of my orders has not come in yet. I'd rather do it all at once.
We used seed trays yesterday, but I also use fast food trays, pie pans- you name it. Save the produce bags you get at the store. They make a great cover. Still- seed trays work very well and you can re-use them for several years. You just have to clean them with a bleach and water solution each year before you use them.

 She loves to pour on the water and watch the pellets fill up.(Note the class mascot in the background.) I know some would argue that it is better to use a tray of mix. For me, however, all that thinning is a waste of time. And time is something I don't have much of these days. Time is a precious thing around this house. I've tried the other way and, for me, this is just easier.

 She opened the top pf each pellet to make a place for the seeds.

 Next, I wrote on the markers and she added them to the pellets. Normally, I like the plastic markers MUCH better- and you can reuse them. However, I ordered new ones and they are still somewhere in FedEx land, so we had to use little woden craft stick markers. I don't like doing this, because the moisture can cause the writing to fade. I didn't have much choice in this case, though. I could have driven to the store to buy the plastic, but I stay on the road enough as it is. One thing I have learned from my parents and grandparents is to make the best of what I have.

Once we covered the tray, we took it upstairs to the loft room. Since the center section of our house is A-frame, we have one upstairs room that stays very warm. The floor is so warm that I don't even need a heat mat. We just place the tray on the floor out of direct sunlight and wait...
Now it is time to get ready for church. Hope everyone has a blessed day!