I finally got my outdoor seeds started!

I live in Minnesota so my first day of safe frost-free planting is May 20th this year according to my handy Farmer’s Almanac. There are seeds that you can start outside before that, but not many. I like to transplant plants to the garden for a lot of veggies.

Carrots, tomatoes, and several others can take 75+ days to harvest. With only 3.5 solid months of growing season I need to maximize my garden time, and that means starting from plants, not seeds, for anything that has a growing time of 60 days or more. (You don’t want your first harvest to come during your frost! What fun would it be to not eat anything out of your garden for months?)

Here is a picture of the seed flats I have started:

I have press-and-seal wrap over the trays to preserve moisture and warmth which will start the seeds faster. I have 2 kinds of trays: small egg-crate style, and large potter style. I use the large pots for things that need to get pretty big before transplant like carrots and tomatoes. I use the small egg crate style for flowers and smaller veggies, and things that can go in the garden sooner size-wise as well as colder-tolerant.

So here’s what I have started:

• Yellow Onions
• Long Carrots
• Jalapenos
• Bell Peppers
• Broccoli
• Beef Steak, Roma, and Salad Tomatoes
• Petunias (regular ones :))

These I will sow right in the garden:

• Beans
• Peas
• Short Carrots
• Cilantro
• Basil
• Radishes
• Zucchini
• Cosmos
• Morning Glories

These are either fast growers, or cold weather tolerant and do well going right in as seed.

Thanks for stopping by!