Let’s Talk: Wrapping Up The Series

We’ve done it! The series is done! I have archived all the posts along with some other resources in a new, dedicated page. You can navigate to it any time by clicking on that handy “Menu” button at the top of my site. Like so:

That will pop open a side window and you’ll see it hanging out next to my boring ‘About Me’ section and a handy Garden Map. Like so:

This is where all the posts will live, alphabetized and ready for reference. All posts are tagged with “Let’s Grow” if you prefer to search for them.

I also want to send you to Margaret Roach’s site A Way To Garden where she spoke with Ken Druse about the logistics of starting things from seed. There are some great tidbits in there, but Margaret also talks about the economics of what she decides to plant in her garden (she has a whole post about it too). She too had raised beds and feels much like I do- if you can get it at the market for $0.79/lb, don’t bother growing it. If its $3.00/lb grow it yourself. If its a huge plant (like zucchini), do you want to devote a 3 foot by 3 foot space in your garden or spend a few dollars to buy a few at a market (or even better get it for free from a neighbor or fellow gardener).

Give some time and thought to what you think you’ll eat and/or the things you love to cook/preserve, what makes fiscal sense to grow yourself (biggest bang for your buck), and how much effort/investment you want to make in seed starting equipment.

There are loads of seeds that are best served directly sown outside- beets and carrots (basically all root crops), beans, peas, spinach and lettuce (most greens including chard, kale, and collards), and kohlrabi- so you can start with these and work towards more if you are not sure how invested you want to get.

And lastly, there’s nothing wrong with supporting your local nursery and just buying plants instead of starting things like cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, squash and melons. I find it a bit more difficult to get information about taste and uses on seedling tags, but if you have a smart phone it shouldn’t be too hard to figure it out before you buy.

Do also check out Margaret’s Seed Starting Calculator. Her’s is the tool I use every year to get my seed starting calendar and planning in order. You only need to know your average last frost date and it will give you a handy Excel-type spreadsheet with date ranges for both seed starting and sowing/planting outside.

Good luck shopping and growing! Thank you again to reader MyBackyardGarden4B for the inspiration and to all of you that commended and shared your input.