Lessons Learned, Success!

As a follow-up to yesterday's post about gardening failures, here are a couple of the grand successes that I have achieved thus far:

1. Hardy Plants = Happy Gardener. To reap the rewards of a vegetable garden quickly and with ease, I suggest planting those vegetables which are so easy to grow, a caveman could do it. About half of the veggies that I've planted have sprouted and grown with gusto, and I've had to pay little attention to them, besides a little watering and a little weeding. Hardy winter greens are the staple here....think kale, collards, spinach, chard, and cabbage. I planted these very early and they've done great. Others that have done well include peas, beets, kohlrabi and potatoes. Furthermore, radishes can handle cold weather and are ready to eat in less than a month. If you're looking to get started quickly, plant a bed of greens and a bed of beets, kohlrabi, and/or radishes and then sip on some whiskey and relax that troubled mind. These plants will do the work for you.

List of Spring and Fall Veggies

2. When starting seeds indoors, give ample space and ample light. I found great success with my seed starts using 16oz. red keg cups (picnic cups, for the young at heart) in place of the small 4oz. peat seed starters. The seeds in keg cups flourished with the added space to grow a large and strong root system. Furthermore, make sure that your starts are getting all sorts of light. Place near a south-facing window, and if the weather is gloomy, I suggest adding artificial light as well. I happen to have old fish tank lights that I used, but if you're rolling in the dough, you might even splurge on a larger indoor full spectrum grow light. I think it's well worth the time, effort, and money to ensure that your seed-starts come up big and strong. The early maturation will lead to even greater success when transplanted into the garden proper.

If you want more in-depth and technical information on starting seeds, I suggest asking your good friend Google. Google knows.