New England Gardener

Most of the Just Add Water garden will be grown from seed, directly sowed into the garden bed, but here in New England, and especially in Maine where I live, a few things must be started indoors or purchased as seedlings at a local garden center.

Some years, I purchase seedlings, but this year, my son was home sick for a few days, so I decided to break out my grow lights. My set up is super basic. My husband built a wood frame, from which he hung a couple of grow lights hung from movable chains. I should probably use heat mats underneath, but I just haven’t gotten around to it. Most seeds germinate, but a few don’t. The bigger challenge is protecting tiny seedlings from my cat and three-year-old son.

Here’s what I started on April 11th:
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Filed under: Just Add Water Project

It happens every April. I get the urge to scrape off the last layer of ice, rake away the rotting leaves and search for signs of life in the garden. And this year, thanks in large part to the withering economy, I’ll have plenty of company. Didn’t I see First Lady Michelle Obama digging up the White House lawn a couple of weeks ago? Home vegetable gardening is back in a big way. Unfortunately, many would-be gardeners are intimidated by the prospect, imagining they lack the mythical Green Thumb that would turn them into Martha Stewart.

Trust me, there’s no magic to gardening and I’m going to prove it.
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Filed under: Just Add Water Project