No Greenhouse No Problem

My little ones love gardening. I mean they light up and get so excited about anything related to gardening. Over Christmas a family member gave me cuttings from two of her plants. I borderline neglected them until just recently. We potted them individually and placed one in each of their rooms. Oh my goodness they love their plants. It might be more getting to water them. It’s a very cool time for them as I’m beginning to plan our garden for the year. This year we are starting more from seeds. You might wonder how if we don’t have an actual greenhouse – I say, no greenhouse no problem.

Years ago, when my dog and plants were my only babies, I learned how to germinate seeds. It’s pretty easy if you get the right type of seeds. I’ve read that the plants you grow from seeds actually do better and produce more than the starter plants you can get from your big name stores. And this is where I’ve been getting most of my garden plants just because it’s faster and easier…but not that much easier.

If you like gardening, you get to start earlier. Germinating seeds is actually cheaper. You get extra plants to give to friends and family. So you could all pick different seeds and swap! Oh my gosh a seed swap!! This is definitely happening next year. Oh and it’s a great kids activity. They learn how our plants grow, feel empowered getting to help, and it’s attainable for them.

You need a few plastic baggies, some small paper towels, a marker to label the bags, and a spray bottle. Oh, you need the seeds too.

No Greenhouse No Problem: Let’s Get Started!

Spread out your supplies on a flat surface where it’s easy to work. Lay out your paper towel. Spray it damp with water. Simply lay out some seeds on the towel and fold the towel in half. You want at least an inch around the seeds so they have room to grow without tangling. That was a big mistake my first time. Insert the folded paper towel into your bag.

Now all you have to do is put them somewhere they’ll get a bit of sun, and make sure the paper towel stays moist. Try not to make it too soggy so the seeds don’t rot or drown, just wet to the touch. At first, I laid the baggies with seeds on my desk. But then my husband needed some room to work. So my son and I took a bit of clear tape and taped the baggies to the windows. My neighbors might wonder what’s going on! Aside from looks, this is working fantastically.

See, no greenhouse no problem! You can turn anything into a greenhouse. I’ve also seen on instagram where people use cookie or strawberry containers to make mini greenhouses to plant these after they’ve germinated. I’ve ordered hanging shelves for my windows and plan to continue the garden inside for a little bit longer. Here in Western Pennsylvania our Springs can be a bit unpredictable.

You might want to save your plastic berry containers. You can transfer your seedlings here and it helps keep the moisture in as they grow a bit more. Also, planting your sprouts right away can leave them susceptible to a bit of shock. So taking them from the paper towel and planting them in a little mini greenhouse can go along way in protecting your investment.

What Did we Plant?

We started with two and I plan to add a few more. The first two are my family’s favorites: Purple Tomatillos and Cucamelons. Tomatillo’s grow in a fun little lantern like leafy case and look really cool. They all taste pretty good too! My kids love colorful foods so we went with purples. I grew these before on our old apartment balcony and my husband and dog basically ate them all. The same went with the cucamelons. These are sometimes called Mexican Sour Gherkins. These are little mini cucumbers basically and they have a bit of a sweetness to them. They grown on a vine so you need a trellis or structure for them. They’re a great snack or addition to a salad.

These are the little babies about three months later.