The Start of a New Gardening Season

We've made it to spring, and I'm so ready to get back to what I love doing the most - gardening! I've been busy planting seeds, building new shelves for the greenhouse and cleaning up debris left over from last year. Not much happens here in late fall and winter in New England, so I'm happy to be back and share with you all!

Back in early February, I got to work and organized some of my seed cases. I figured it was important to take note of what I already had before I put in any big seed orders. Turns out I still have a ton of seeds (shocker, I know!)

I am changing things up a bit this year when it comes to my tomato plants. I have a nice collection of heirloom tomato seeds, but ended up dealing with a large amount of disease last season. That led me to putting in an order with Johnny's Selected Seeds for some new F1 hybrid varieties. 

Over the winter, I bought new shelving units for my houseplants. I used my existing grow lights for the new shelves. Since that left me with no extra lights, I went to the store and bought all new 4' shop lights for my seed starting area. I also decided to purchase an adjustable gooseneck LED grow light for my top shelf instead of using it just for storage. 

Tomato seedlings

So far, I've started trays of cold weather crops, warm weather crops, flowers and herbs. This is also my first year switching from regular seed trays to root trainers for my sweet peas. So far, so good! If you want to see more pictures of the varieties of seeds I've started, make sure to check out my pinned stories on Instagram. 

Here is a list of my must have seed starting supplies;

• • Soil - Espoma Organic Premium Seed Starting Mix (16 qt)
  • Worm Castings - Uncle Jim's Worm Farm Compost (4 lb)
  • Vermiculite - Organic Coarse Vermiculite (4 liters) 
  • Seed Trays - 72 Cell Trays (10 pack) 
  • Bottom Seed Trays - Plant Growing Trays, No Drainage Holes (10 pack)
  • Heat Mat - Hydrofarm Jump Start Heat Mat (48"x20")
  • Fans - USB Mini Fan (4") 
  • Fertilizer - Espoma Bloom! Organic Liquid Plant Food (18 fl oz) 
  • Plant Booster Bio-stimulant - Nature's Wonder Plant & Turf Booster (60 fl oz)
    *Use my code ANGROSE10 at checkout for 10% off your order!*

Now, onto the greenhouse progress!

I've had my greenhouse for a few years now, but hadn't had the time or the money to build shelves. I was determined to make that change this year! My fiancé and I decided to build two shelves (work benches) as shown in the photo above and also a middle shelving unit that we are still in the process of building.

Once we added these shelves in, we also decided to add shelf extenders that are basically a smaller shelf attached to the top on each side to hold things like pots and tools. This will allow me to fit around 12 seed trays on each side. We are still busy working on everything, but so far it's looking great!

Before & After

Materials Used to Build Shelves;

• • 2 in x 3 in x 8 ft Untreated Whitewood 
  • 1 in x 3 in x 8 ft SPF Furring Strips
  • No. 2 Phillips Deck Screws (1-1/4")
  • No. 2 Phillips Deck Screws (3") 

After building the shelves, we added a clear waterproofer from Gardener's Supply to protect the wood. It's infused with juniper, food safe and prevents mold and mildew. I've also purchased some gray square paving stones to give me more of an even ground to stand on when I'm watering seeds. 

Since I want to be able to run fans in the summer, I made sure to get a heavy duty power strip. I went with an Tripp Lite 8 outlet surge protector power strip with a 12 foot cord. As with my seed starting, I'm sharing photos as I make any changes to my Instagram stories, so make sure to follow along! 

I've also been busy decorating a bit by adding some spring cut flowers and decor. I've brought in some of my terra cotta pots, seedling trays and my tools. It's nice to have a place to store everything and have easier access. I've also added in a large fan to the floor for air circulation temporarily until I buy smaller fans to fit up on the shelves. I'm also on the hunt for a good quality greenhouse heater for the colder months. 

That's what I've been up to lately!

I'll be posting updates as often as I can, and I'm so happy to share with you all. It's nice to smell soil on my hands and see the flowers blooming again. I've been making a big effort to do every project slowly and actually enjoy it instead of rushing myself and stressing out. A little at a time has been so much easier than attempting to cram everything into one week. Who knew?

Thank you for the taking the time to check out my blog, and I appreciate each and every one of you who reach out to me over on Instagram. You all inspire and help me so much! Do you have any recommendations when it comes to greenhouse heaters? Please leave it in the comment section below, and feel free to let me know what you have been up to in your garden this spring. Happy gardening!