It's that time of year again . . . yep, time to pull out those old under-the-bed boxes and start some seedlings! (What? Did you think I meant switch out clothes for the season? It's still a bit early for that, I'm afraid.) I used the homemade newspaper pots again (click here for a tutorial). This time, though, I won't have to give up my guest room/sewing room/craft room since I'll be starting these seeds on the back porch. Outside temps in the shade have actually been just right for sprouting seeds lately.

I decided to conduct an experiment this time. The seeds in the pots on the right are planted in the Miracle Grow Organic Potting Mix that I used for spring planting. The seeds in the pots on the left are in finished compost straight from our compost pile. I made sure that the seeds are evenly divided, so I've got just as many kale seeds on the left as on the right, for example. I'll be interested to see . . .

1. which seeds sprout first

2. which plants grow faster

3. which plants make the transition to the garden better

4. whether the tiny amount of soil they're started in has any bearing on the size/productivity of the mature plant

What seeds did we start? 3 varieties of lettuce, Swiss Chard, kale, and spinach. We'll see how it goes. Stay tuned!