Getting Started

Formal Introductions
Hello there! I'm a first-time gardener from Ypsilanti, MI with an 8'x8' plot in Normal Park's organic community garden. Many of the seeds I'll be planting this season are from the Slow Food Huron Valley Heirloom Seed Trial. Slow Food Huron Valley is giving away 30 different varieties of heirloom seeds from the Great Lakes Region in exchange for feedback about how they grow and how they taste. Their goal is to promote seed saving and genetic diversity in foods adapted to our region, and they ask participants to share photos and information to continue to improve food varieties that are adapted to our region. That's where you come in - I'll be sharing all my information about my garden growing with you! Aren't you so lucky?

The Seeds
From SFHV I've received the following seeds: Black Seeded Kentucky Wonder Pole Snap Beans, Green Prolific Boston Cucumbers, Grand Rapids Leaf Lettuce, and Livingston's Golden Queen Tomatoes. From organic burpee seeds I'll be planting sweet peppers, hot peppers, broccoli, and spinach.

Getting Started

Yesterday I planted 42 of the queen tomato seeds into containers. I used a bag of organic soil that's especially for growing tomatoes and other vegetables. Here's a picture before I covered them, all snuggled 1/4" deep in their tiny soil beds, where they'll stay for the next 6-8 weeks in this snazzy set-up in my basement under artificial light. I plan to set up a timer so the seeds will receive light early in the morning and throughout the day, so they're on a cycle and prepared for what light they'll receive once they're transplanted into the garden.

The tomatoes are sharing a container with 27 planted broccoli seeds, and 54 sweet pepper seeds and 18 hot pepper seeds are in a second container.

Next Time

Stay tuned for exciting reports on the germination rate of these growing seedlings, and pictures of my garden plot planned out on graph paper (probably not to scale, even though I tried)!

organically yours,

vanessa