March growing & Springing into Gorgeous Life!

On these warm days, I have been sitting my houseplants outside so they can soak up some sun and warmth. On cold days, I try to pamper them with fertilize, water, cleaning their leaves, inspecting and touching them, or rearranging them. 

I am SO ready for Spring, seeing the magnolias bloom, crocus, daffodils, tulips. You know, tulips are my favorite, as I have a designated tulip garden. Flowers are slowly blooming, but it was a rough winter, I must say, worse than previous winters for at least the last 8 years. 

Of course, you know my grandma decorates for every holiday, and her Spring decor is always the most cheerful. I took a snapshot of her porch, but this is not her only decorated scene--when she decorates, she goes all out, her whole house and yard are always covered in decorations. 

I started a garden calendar to coincide with the farmer's almanac. I have been planting by this moon growing calendar, as I do every year. I try it all, so to speak.

At the beginning of March, I planted broccoli, kale, tomatoes, peppers and herbs such as cilantro, dill, parsley and basil. These are under grow lights; and on warm sunny days this week, I have been putting the trays of seedlings outside for 2 hours before the sun goes down, then take them back to their spot indoors. 

I have been giving the seedlings 12 hours of light. I wish I had bought two sets of lights per seedling tray, because one light just makes seedlings grow leggy towards the center of the light instead of straight up. 

I am starting to water the plants from the bottom as well. It is recommended to do this watering method, so I'm experimenting. 

One big mistake I made already was using garden soil which is not recommended for seedlings. Instead, it is recommended to use a spilled mixture of peat moss and perlite. I used these 2 components but really didn't think the seeds would sprout in those conditions. Adding the garden soil created a moldy environment, I believe--especially when watering from the bottom and (maybe) being overzealous with the water because I had not tried this method before. 

I am hoping, though, that these seedlings still grow brilliantly, despite the mold and legginess. I also planted 9 strawberry roots in pots, and planted flower seeds in pots.

I'll keep y'all posted! Happy planting, folks!

With the flower seeds, I soaked them overnight in water, and I highly recommend this method. Again, this is the year of garden experiments! 

In one pot, I planted passion flower seeds, then Amaranth, Lavendar, and Columbine in separate pots.