Gardening // Community // Green living
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Progress update: Robust tomato transplants are ready for Summer
If you’re on this site, you must be an avid gardener, and you know that there’s nothing quite like seeing your plants grow and thrive. And when it comes to tomatoes, there’s nothing more satisfying than watching those tiny, fragile plants get bigger, taller, and ready to be either in the ground or large pots…
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Transplanting tomato seedlings
Some folks like to plant their seedlings directly in the garden, but I usually have better results transplanting tomato seedlings from the seed-starting tray to small pots such as yogurt containers or other small, deep vessels. This process should be started 4-6 weeks after germination or after plants have at least two sets of true…
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Two days later: First sprouts
Just two days after I planted my first seeds of the season, there was serious sprouting action. I planted an assortment of tomatoes, bell peppers, artichokes, and a bouquet of flower varieties. My Propagate Pro heat mat was surely one of the factors in the speedy germination. The heat helps most seeds germinate, though I…
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First planting
Today was the day – the official first day of our 2023 growing season! We planted tomatoes, peppers, and assorted flowers in a 72 hex-cell seed starting tray. The tray sits on top of a Propagate Pro heat mat we bought back in 2017 for brewing kombucha. The heat ought to speed up the germination…
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Best places to find good seeds
Over the years, we find ourselves buying fewer seeds. Because we’re planting less? Nah. We plant more every year, but instead of buying tons of seeds, we save as many as we can from our plants and from produce we buy. By last Thanksgiving, our overgrown basil plants were dead and crispy. A stiff grab…
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Spring Awakening
Here in central Maryland, it seems we barely had winter this year. My poor snow shovel stayed under the deck all season without a single use. The extremely mild winter means trees are already in bloom and daffodils have been in bloom for almost three weeks. The tulip bulbs I planted in November are already…
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Best gardening books
As gardeners and homesteaders, we always need to be willing to learn. These books will make you a better gardener or homesteader. The Essential Urban Farmer I first read The Essential Urban Farmer while curled up on my sofa on a string of extra cold winter evenings. It covers tons of homesteading topics with extra…
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The seed is planted
Welcome to The Very Normal Seed, a blog about gardening, community, green living, DIY projects, and more. I hope to provide you with some valuable and practical content, but there are no guarantees. What to expect
Have book or product recommendations?