HelpfulGardener.com

I start my seeds in styrofoam grape boxes about 12 by 15 --5 inches deep. The first thing I do is put the box inside a white garbage bag then punch 4 smalls holes for drainage. The plastic is clean and holds moisture!
Next I have a bucket of strained damp garden soil and a bucket of pine tree soil from under a large pine tree. At the bottom of the box I put a hand full of crushed dry leaves. I cover the leaves with about 3 inches of mixed garden and pine soils that I have strained! I pat that down then add some strained potting soil used to plant seeds. There are many varities that work weel. I place about a 1/2 inch on top of the mix and pat down! This layer stops some of the weeds from the soils below.
+++ Now I add the seeds and cover the seeds with more of the strained potting soils or even some peat moss mixed with the potting soils. I tap the mix down over the seeds and set it in my greenhouse sweat chamber. I cover the flat with a glass storm window or plastic or anything to hold in the moisture and let the light in incase I do not check it for a week they can keep growing with the light coming in.and not die offThe garden soil seems to work great for me and keeps the price down. I can leave my plants in the boxes for a month or move them to regular flats! I put cabbage lettuce a few tomatoes and several other things. I have some radish up from last week. Any questions? The leaves seem to make a home for the small worms in the garden soil! When I empty the box in the spring I have sever nice worms at the bottom!

Wow, everyone is starting seeds so soon. I am in Missouri and end of February is as soon as I can get started or the plants are way to big by the time the garden is ready. I'm jealous, I am ready to start too!

Start things like lettuce cabbage and radish that you can put out early in a cold frame! You need that solar greenhouse to make it work early!

I wasn't thinking about the cold frames. Don't have any of those will have to think about it for next year. Good for you.

Cold frames are easy to make and can be converted to raised beds as the spring progresses!

Yeah I know but just one more thing to move around and I don't like raised beds. I'll just wait. I have my greenhouse so I could grow in there and I think I will try that for some early lettuce for myself.

Just finishing up some seed tapes and as soon as the ground unfreezes again I am going to experiment with that.

Thanks.

My solar greenhouse has been very cold for the last two weeks since its over cast almost every day. The night temp has been below 15 many days and as low as 5. My inside temp in my growing area has gon down to the low 30's many nights!
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The sun for a few days raises up the water temp in the barrels a few degrees. I have a fan that kicks on for about 3 hours fron noon to 3 every day blowing air against the barres! I has been about 70 on a sunny day regardless of the low outside temp in the 20's! I would have to say that the solar greenhouse works great when temp is in the twenties without any other heat! My seeds take about a week longer to come upwith the lower temps.. Nothing freezes even if the temp reaches 32 for a few hours!
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The best thing is to plant cole crops or lettuce in the dead of winter and the wamer seed crops the middle of feb in Pa. Lettuce comes up in less than a week even in low temps and grows well at 40 degrees average. I guess onions I could plant also plus spinich or swiss chart!.As water freezes it gives off alot more heat because of the phase change so the low temp seldom gets below 32!