This Week 2/14 & Where I got the seeds

those blue envelopes in the background are full of seeds for future weeks

Happy Valentines day!!!  This week, instead of boring you with my regular seed starting update (though I'm sure I'll include that as well), I thought I'd tell you a bit about my experiences in seed starting.  First off, you might be wondering where I even get my seeds!  Originally, I ordered all my seeds from Johnny Seeds based on the recommendation of a friend. This year, I decided to try out some new seed companies, as they simply don't carry everything I want and they do tend on the pricey side.  I was most excited when I found the Hudson Valley Seed Library who not only are committed to organic, sustainable, and local practices but to our artists, too!  They have beautiful "Art Packs" that they commission artists to make. I hope to be on one someday.  Seeds Now also caught my interests with their entirely open-pollinated offerings and the draw of their $1 seed packets, which are kept in tiny zip-lock bags that I can't quite decide how I feel about (they're plastic and not the easiest to get seeds out of, but my goodness do I love being able to see the seeds in their clear homes!).  Finally, there were still a couple herbs I was having difficulty tracking down and a little etsy shop called All Good Things Organic Seeds came to my rescue - plus had a few fun things I wanted. If you're looking for interesting seeds, I'd certainly check them out. They even have 4 different varieties of mullein and a white dandelion!  The rest of my seed collection came from a mishmash of my own seed-saving experiments, an acquaintance giving me a handful of fava beans, someone on HVecycle getting rid of a collection of seed packets, and a few packets that caught my eye in local stores.


 I may have more seeds than I'll use all of in the near future, but I just love the potential sitting in each seed - with just a little water, sun, soil, and care, they'll grow to thousands of times their size, create food for me, and then create seeds of their own. If that's not magic, I'm not sure what is!

So what seeds did I start this week, you ask? I did snapdragons and bell peppers from HV seed library; thyme and violas from Johnny's; kale, rosemary and yarrow from Seeds Now; mullein and vervain from All Good Things; and pak choi, lemon mint, and cabbage from an Ecycler.  I feel like I'm starting more and more seeds each week. Soon, my little apartment will be full up!