Think Spring

Winter has gone on long enough and our little #farmhers are getting serious SPRING FEVER! So since it's another winter snow/ice storm outside here this weekend we decided to bring spring to us inside and plant our first batch of seedlings.

For a few years now I have wanted to plant herbs for my kitchen window and somehow life has gotten busy and I keep putting it off, but today is the day! :) We planted herbs - cilantro, basil, oregano; and 2 trays of sprouts - sunflower, broccoli, buttercrunch lettuce, and romaine lettuce. We have never done this before so this is all new and I am sure we will have lots of learning through the process... we can't wait!

Here's what we used for our planting session today:

1. Burpee organic seed starting mix (coconut coir)

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2. Water and a 5 gallon pail

3. Valley Greene heirloom variety seeds

4. 3 small pots for the herbs

5. 2 large seed trays for the sprouts

Once we had our supplies gathered we mixed the coconut coir with water and WOW was it ever so cool to see it expand from the size of a brick to 8 qts in our pail. Our girls loved mixing it and getting their hands dirty... it has been months since they have been able to get their hands in soil! While this isn't really as rich and wonderful as outdoor soil, it is still fun to dig into. :)

After the seed starting mix was fully moistened we spread it evenly out into the seed starting trays and the 3 pots.

Next we opened up the seed and examined them, discussed how they looked and compared how they looked similar/different. The toddler observations are amazing... comparing seeds to pebbles and noting the size comparisons as we spread the seeds over the soil.

Last, we gently patted the seeds so they were all just lightly "tucked-in" with their soil blanket and closed them up with their plastic covers. We walked around our house and decided the best, most sunny spot would be in our home-office window (south facing). Now it's hurry up and wait time. The girls are so anxious and have been checking them every hour today to monitor their seeds and see if their little greenhouses are producing any seedlings yet.

Gardens are such a perfect way to teach life lessons and this afternoon's is patience. <3