So it's the end of February, which means another planting year begins for me. Since our last frost date is usually March 27th, I know that I can start my seedlings around the end of February and have them ready for transplant by the time our last frost hits. So that means getting together my seedling pots, plant markers, and seedling soil.

Seeling Soil

In the past I've used the Miracle Grow seedling soil, but it comes in a pretty small bag and can be expensive. This year I noticed that Jiffy has a bag of seedling soil that is about the same price, but a larger bag (12qt as compared to 8 qt). I'd heard good things online about it, so I purchased that to use this year instead. There's also the added bonus of the mix being organic as well. Seedling soil is always good to use for starting plants by seed, as it is specially made to provide a seedling with everything they need, minus water and light.

If you look for this at the store, the package might be slightly different. The bag I had said something like "Natural & Organic" instead of just "ORGANIC". Apparently they did a slight change to the front of the bag this year. 

Seedling Greenhouse

Because we had to clear everything from our patio last year so they could paint, all of my seedling planters, pots, etc. were all boxed up and went to storage. Of course nothing got marked, and it's been months since everything was moved, so my husband can't remember where in storage he put the boxes. So I went ahead and bought new planters this year. I had some of these last year and thus far I've found they work really well.

They're by NK Lawn & Garden and are a 72 cell "mini greenhouse". The set comes with a watering tray, tray of cells (which you can pop apart into individual 6 cell sets), a clear cover, and instructions. I like using the clear cover until the plants get too tall to be able to stand upright. Often times I will take the cover off during the day so that the seedlings get maximum light exposure, but then put it back on later in the day and through the night. This helps keep in moisture and heat. That is especially important while you wait for the seeds to pop up.

Seedling Markers

I went onto Amazon looking for seedling supplies, particularly seeds I couldn't find in the store and plant markers. I had used popsicle sticks in the past (you can buy a big box at Michaels), but I found that they often promoted fungus growth once they were wet. So this year I decided I wanted to use plastic markers. I looked at the store, but they were a little spendy for a small pack. I ended up finding a pack of 100 of them on Amazon for about what a 15 pack went for at the store.

These markers help me to keep track of what I have planted, which is especially important when you plant multiple items that look the same, such as different varieties of the same plant (Roma tomatoes, Beefsteak tomatoes, etc.). I use permanent marker on them to ensure that nothing wears off or rubs off. 

Seedlings

But the most important thing I needed was seeds. And lots of them. I always like growing a variety of items. As such, it's not uncommon for me to have 20+ different plants growing at one time. This year I'm doing 30 different plants. 

A lot of my seeds I pick up at the store when I'm out shopping. Whenever I go into a feed store, grocery store, dollar store, etc. I always look to see if they have seeds. Usually by about January they start putting out their seeds. I grab a few here and there until I have everything I need. This year one brand that I like - Home Farmer - still hadn't showed up at Walmart. I grew their Asian Fingers Eggplant last year and loved it. I like making curry and having easy access to fresh eggplant is always a bonus. Because I couldn't find the Home Farmer ones - or them from any other seedling company - I had to resort to buying online.

I was looking at buying from one of my many seedling catalogs I requested this year, but many either came too late or had too high of shipping for a single packet of seeds. I'm planning on buying from them next year, as they have some interesting varieties and often times throw in free seed packets to try. It was just too late for me this year. So I went and looked at Amazon.

I ended up finding a big packet of the eggplant seeds I needed for a really great price. Not only that, but I found some seeds I wouldn't have thought about growing before - snapdragons, pansies, and bluebonnets. The first two I always just bought at the store and the last one is something about Texas that I really miss. So I picked up some of those as well.

When my seeds arrived, I also got a bonus pack of artichoke seeds. So I figured "why not?" and am growing those as well.

Now that I had all of my necessary pieces to start gardening, the next step was bringing it all together.