I have given up indoor seed starting completely on several occasions. The first time it happened I was a novice gardener. I had ordered seeds of just about every plant that I saw in the garden catalogs without thinking about such practical things as gallons of potting soil, hours of daily watering, and square feet of windowsill space. It also did not occur to me to determine whether or not I had room in my garden for even a fraction of my seedlings. My chaotic efforts eventually produced some wonderful plants, but the process was so exhausting that I said: “Never again.”
After that, I made some half-hearted attempts at seed starting, but it always seemed as if I got my seeds in too late, or forgot that I wanted to take a long weekend at a crucial time in the life of my young green charges. My seed starting still resulted in a measure of success, but not enough, it seemed to me, to make the heartburn worthwhile.
But life and gardening ideas evolve. For the past two years, I have been very selective about the seeds that I start indoors. When I open the catalogs I steel myself and try to remember how it feels too thin hundreds of seedlings with a pair of nail scissors. With that in mind, I select just a few varieties that I am sure I will not be able to get in the garden centers. I buy in quantities that I know I can accommodate the top of the microwave, which is the optimum seed starting area in my house
This strategy has proven very successful. Last year it worked so well that I had enough white cosmos seedlings to give to a neighbor. My ‘Moonlight’ nasturtiums were an absolute triumph, and my ‘White Linen’ California poppies grew like wildfire.
Now I am finally ready to take on pansies.
I have always loved pansies, and that
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