Ready, Set, Start

The vernal equinox marked the first day of spring a week ago, but for me spring really begins when I start seeds for the garden.

 I tried to pick thirty minutes today when it wasn't pouring to get those seeds planted.

I gathered all my stuff, filled the cups with seed starting mix, and watered them well. Then I started planting. If you look closely below,

you can see little blue Brussels sprouts seeds in the cups on the left and tiny green tomato seeds in the cups on the right.

Next, I used my special seed-pushing tool (obtainable from almost any Chinese restaurant) to push the seeds into the seed starting mix,

and misted them all well to make sure the surface and seeds would be moistened. Even though it was raining lightly, 

it seemed that me, my phone, and the seed packets were the only things getting wet.

I covered the pots with plastic wrap because nobody has yet gifted me with a greenhouse and I want the seeds

 to stay warm and moist in order to germinate.

Finally, I placed the trays under fluorescent lights on my seed-starting shelves in the basement, and gently urged the seeds to get going,

This is actually one of my favorite parts of gardening, and with any luck, I'll see some tiny plants emerging in the next 4 - 14 days!