seedlings

We have seedlings somewhere on the farm almost 52 weeks of the year. About 300 cold hardy flowers have been on our sunporch all winter, and will go in the ground as soon as we can find it. We are still snow covered, but this week it should all wash away.

We are about 12 weeks out from our local frost free date, so we start seeds in earnest now. Both flower and vegetable are in the basement, on heating pads, under lights (that are on timers), wrapped in insulation and checked for water needs twice daily.

The solid insulation is a new addition this year. There are gaps in it, and the temperature in the basement is about 30 degrees cooler than the heating mats, so air is naturally circulating around the soil and seedlings.

It's important to keep the lights as close to the seeds/seedlings as possible. Today we picked up a watering wand that has a tiny, flexible water rose  at the end. It can be adjusted to almost flat, allowing the water to go between the lights and the soil while taking up just a tiny bit of space.

Already more than a thousand seeds are in the soil in this stand. Some are Hardy enough to go outside as soon as the snow melts, others will live here for another 10-12 weeks. Preparations.