Jump Start on Spring Planting

The time to get a jump start on your spring garden has finally arrived and we are so happy to be back outside getting our hands dirty!  It might seem a little bit early in the season to be thinking about growing vegetables, but this is the perfect time to be starting seeds and thinking about season extension.  An easy way to get a head start on the season is to get your garden beds covered up and warming so we can get seeds into the soil as soon as the ground thaws.  We’ve already got some of our cold-tolerant, early growers started in trays and have had a great time introducing coir into our potting mixes.  What a plentiful and sustainable alternative to peat moss!  Right now we’ve got our seeds already germinating in a mix of coir and vermiculite.  We’ve got seeds staying warm under cold-frames and we can’t wait to see them transplanted out into garden beds!  While we are experimenting with soil-less mixes and season extension methods, we’ve had the chance to involve some of our Green Gardener kids in the process.  We’ve had a blast so far, up to our elbows in potting mix, choosing seeds to plant and talking about what veggies we look forward to enjoying.  With this warm week things are looking like we might get an even earlier start than we thought, with plans to get digging this week.  Here’s to hoping we all get to enjoy an early harvest!