The First Day of Spring!

At least in my mind, today was the start of the season.  Today was eggplant day.  I know, I know...what am I thinking?  Upstate NY still has patches of snow on the ground and still dips below freezing at night.  But, this is the start of my seedling project.  I am no expert, but last year I had a 100% success rate with my seed starting project.  It's not without some organization and effort.  Some seeds have to be coaxed out of hibernation gently, over long periods of time.  While my eggplant seedlings flourished indoors last year, they were not big enough for a successful transplant.  So, with some research under my new belt, I discovered I should have started them earlier than I did.  With an extra two weeks of growth this year, and some (hopefully!) warmer conditions, I hope to have some interesting varieties to sample!  The girls helped me (I think it is important to give them hands on experience from start to finish!) and we planted 6 transplant cells.  Two each of "pandora striped rose" and "thai long purple" and one each of "thai yellow egg" and "dusky hybrid."  With limited growing space in my dusty basement, this is all I have room for this year.  Peppers are next on my list to be started at the end of this week.  And hopefully, you will see happy blogs of sprouts poking out of the dirt in the next few weeks.
For now, the seeds are happy in a dim, warm place (on top of the dryer, refrigerator, or other heat producing appliance is best), but once they sprout, they will be moved to the bright light set-up my dad helped me create in the basement.  And then, it will be up and down the stairs every day to check on my new babies.  The clear top helps keep the temperature stable for now, and will be removed as they change from heat seekers to light seekers.  I only water with capillary mats from under the pots...keeps the moisture level more even and keeps mold from forming on the surface.
I've  had many "orders" for seedlings from friends and co-workers, and if I had unlimited space, I imagine I'd have quite a business...but with only two light fixtures, and limited start-up finds, I am lucky to keep my own garden stocked.  As I did last year, though, every plant that does not find its way into my garden space will find its way into that of a friend.  No seedling will be wasted!
Happy Spring!