Seed Starting and Hitler's Regime

So I'm not sure what exactly was going down at Lowe's last week, but apparently somebody had it out for the seeds.

Poor seeds.

Luckily, Hubbie and I were able to rescue some of them, and bring them home on a grand new adventure. I wanted to start my seeds ahead of time inside, so they'd have a chance to get good and strong while the weather took it's (sweet, sweet) time warming up. If you haven't noticed, the weather in Georgia can only be compared to the temperament of a teenage girl, what with the ups and downs and random tornados and ice storms, followed by beautiful balmy days. Crazy.

So last week I started my seeds! I opted to try out the fun little Jiffy pods... which I know isn't as authentic and crunchy as I could've gone. However, I think that if Laura Ingalls was with us today, she'd be up for trying out the trendy new gardening options too. So there.

We added 7 cups of warm water to the tray, and the kiddos puffed right up into gorgeous little seed houses, just waiting to fulfill their seed-y (as in planting, not underbelly) purposes!

I ended up doing two to three pods of each seed type, because I want variety coming out of our porch garden (and I couldn't decide between seeds...), plus this is a learning experience, and I'm sure I'll learn lots about narrowing my focus... should be fun.

All week I've been misting them with water, and moving the covered trays in a musical chairs dance around the living room, trying to catch the few hours of sunshine we get. And things are hap-pen-ing!

One thing I've learned already is that when the seedlings get super leggy (but not in a positive Giselle kind of way), it means they're not getting enough sun. They're streeeeetching out, searching for that sun. Poor seeds... Apparently, there's no coming back for those, so I needed to thin the herd a little, and give some of the shorter guys a chance.

Check out that swiss chard, though! Gorgeous gams! But too leggy for it's own good...

Rather than pulling the seedlings out and risking damage to the other root systems in the same pod, I cut them off at soil level. Each pod has three or four seeds planted in it, but will only play host to one seedling in the end, so while this winnowing was necessary...

It just felt so wrong! Seriously guys, I felt super barbaric by the end of things. I know it was for the plants' own good and all, and that we're trying to grow strong, hearty plants with deep roots and a solid future... but to just snip them off! *sob*

Matters are not helped by the fact that I'm reading Hitler's Furies, by Wendy Lower, right now, which talks about the roles that German women played during the Nazi regime. It put my head in a weird place to begin with, and them I'm trying to explain to the seeds that I'm cutting them off for the good of all... yikes. 

Anyway, the seeds are doing great, though the dill is a bust so far. We may have to try again on that one. I need to figure out a Jiffy pod alternative... while they're super fun, they're also one-hit wonders. I could buy more pods... or I could try something a little more sustainable. I think that's more in line with what we're trying to go for here anyway. Things to ponder!