Starting your own seeds (kid friendly and in patio style)

3 day old tomato seedling

(This post is from an email I just sent in response to a question about growing a small amount of veggies to introduce a toddler to the values associated with gardening - even on the patio scale)

I seem to be giving lots of input to people this time of year and it's terrific to introduce her to the growing food process so she understands that tomatoes don't come from the store... but from plants.

Here's a PDF from an extension that I always recommend to people who are considering the patio garden - it's got good tips and container sizes / guidelines - http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/guides/E-545_vegetable_gardening_containers.pdf - the only thing is - the varieties of seeds they recommend are not really "around" too much anymore.

If you are only doing a few things - tomatoes are the big bang for the buck as they always taste better from home. Cherry tomatoes are small, sweet and easy fr little hands to harvest (all winners).  If you are gonna do tomatoes - look for look for determinate or "DET" varieties - as they won't overgrow the patio. You can stake or cage them if you get big enough pots. You need to keep the soil kinda warm (like 70 or so) and don't take them out until frost has passed.

Peppers are fun too - kinda the same thing.

Root veggies are hard to do in pots (like carrots, turnips and radishes) but cane be done if you get really tall pots... you don't have to start these inside either. Same goes for beans and even corn.   Get a big square pot - make a mound of soil Plant like 6 or 7 corn stalks around the edge and up to the middle of the mound and then plant a circle on non-bush beans (the kind that grow up with vines) and let the beans use the corn stalks...

You have lots of options!

To start the seeds - super easy - go to a garden store get some potting soil (seed starting mix like ProMix is best).  Get some plastic starting trays or peat pots and get your seeds. Plant according to the directions on each seed packet. Water - but not too much.
Actually - nowadays you are hard pressed to walk into a store and not see the seed trays with the little peat pots in them that when you add water they get bigger - they work fine too... but you will need the potting soil anyhow to fill up you bigger pots that will go on the patio!

Getting little people to see how veggies "grow up" and having them part of the experience not only nourishes their mind - but "their" veggies ALWAYS taste better to them!

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