Seed Starting in 2023
Things are a little calm right now. Valentine’s Day is a week away and with it comes a flurry of activity. I’m taking advantage of the quiet to get things ready to start germinating seeds in March. I’ll start setting up a grow house in my basement after the holiday. For now, I’ve created a spreadsheet that begins with the last frost and subtracts the amount of days each plant needs to grow before being transplanted outside into my raised beds. I ordered seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Fairfield, Maine and Select Seeds in Union, Connecticut. In a couple of months, Dahlia tubers will be shipped to my house from East of Eden Flower Farm in Bowdoinham and Suncatcher Flower Farm in Brunswick. l’ll be planting in PRO-MIX, will suspend LED lights overhead on a timer and use heat mats to get things going. What I plan to grow this winter/early spring:
ASCLEPIAS ‘Oscar’
ZINNIA ‘Queen Red Lime’
ZINNIA ‘Benary’s Giant’, Purple
ZINNIA ‘Oklahoma Ivory’
HIBISCUS ‘Mahogany Splendor’
CHINA ASTER, ‘Lady Coral Lavender’
EUCALYPTUS ‘Lemon Bush’
RUDBECKIA ‘Cherry Brandy’
CHINA ASTER ‘Tower Yellow’
ZINNIA ‘Oklahoma Salmon’
BASIL ‘Mrs. Burns’ Lemon’
Ornamental Grass ‘Frosted Explosion’
CAMPANULA ‘Champion Lavender’
AMARANTH ‘Dreadlocks’
SNAPDRAGON ‘Cherry Twist’
BASIL, ‘Amethyst’
MARIGOLD ‘White Swan’