From Sunday Morning

It's Sunday morning and I can hear them downstairs playing. Talking. Negotiating. Bickering. In my still-half-asleep state, I just listen, cognizant of the fact that it's Sunday morning and I'm in bed still with two kids big enough to go downstairs and play and watch tv together while we get up a little more slowly. It doesn't happen often, but every once in a while it hits me that my kids are almost 5 and almost 7. That my kids aren't babies anymore. That I'm officially that mom looking adoringly at moms with newborns, half wanting to snuggle a newborn right in the crook of my arm and half eternally grateful to be out of that phase of life and in one where I can wake up slowly on Sunday morning with my biggest worry being that someone will spill cereal or milk or sneak a piece of candy before one of us gets downstairs.

I have this strange dichotomy happening internally where one part of me feels like a terrible parent for not picking up on stuff and helping my kids sooner, but another part of me tells me over and over that I know we're good parents and that we're doing the best we can with what we have. It's something my mom says often, especially in relation to parenting. That we all just make the best decisions we can in the moment and that HAS to be enough. 

In the past month one kids has started counseling and we've decided to start speech therapy for the other and hold him back a year from starting kindergarten.  Especially now that we've seen with our first grader what he'll be doing when he gets to kindergarten and we've seen how hard it was on her. But it's feels weird because they're only 22 months apart and they'll be 3 years apart in school. And it'll make him 6.5 when he starts kindergarten and that makes me squirm because it makes us look like "those" parents. But this feels like a much better balance than just throwing him in and and hoping he doesn't struggle. 

I got to visit his preschool class last week and stay the whole time and we also had a teacher conference with his teacher where she confirmed that she's been feeling the same way - that an extra year of preschool in a play-based environment would be really good for him to build more solid skills.  And he will be in an environment with teachers and a director who feel the same as we do as parents about kids needing to play and having too much pressure and how it's all just too much for them right now, so that feels really good.  

When we talked to him about it, because we've already talked about kindergarten starting next year, he was thrilled at the idea of having another year in preschool, so that was a relief.

So, for now: We had a few warm(ish) days in a row and it was AWESOME. Snow is melting. Seeds are started inside and sprouting and more are ordered for outside. The seed germinating testing is fascinating all of us. The first day of spring is officially less than a month away. Taxes are filed.  Big time-suck commitments are almost over.  We're on our last bag of strawberries from the summer, which means it's almost time to pick more. Things are good. 

The Ultimate List of Seed Starting Resources

My husband laughed when I told him that I wanted to get seeds to start inside again. Because I've never really successfully done it in our multiple years of having a garden. But, even though I've done a terrible job of starting seeds indoors in the past, I'm going to try it again this year anyway. Isn't that part of the fun of garden planning and feeling hopeful about all that's to come?

I've been researching and learning more about flower-growing this year, so I'm curious to see how it goes. In the meantime, I know I've had a million conversations with friends about seed-starting and gardening lately, so I thought I'd share a big list of some great tips, tricks and info related to seed starting in case any one else is getting seeds going for planting this spring! So, I present...

To start: two incredibly helpful Seed Starting 101 Guides.  They both cover everything you'll need to know with lots of tips based on experience thrown in along the way: 

Seed Starting 101: A Free E-book from Chiot's Run

This E-book covers everything from start to finish: Tips, tricks, supplies, seeds, soil, lights, watering, workflow suggestions, problem-solving, transplanting - you name it and she's addressed it thoroughly and in terms that will make complete sense to you whether you're brand new to gardening or an old pro! 

My favorite tip from the Chiot's Run guide: "You must also temper your excitement and: DON’T START SEEDS TOO EARLY. You want to time your seedlings so that you can plant them outside when they’re big enough to survive, but not too big as to be too shocked from the transplant " 

Seed Starting 101: How to Start Plants From Seeds from Empress of Dirt

What better place to get seed starting advice than from someone who opens the post with, "What began as a means to save money turned into one of my most enjoyable hobbies as well." Melissa covers seed starting (with handy quick links to each section for reference!)  and includes some fantastic links, including info on her own DIY grow lights and seed starting setup.  

My favorite tip from Melissa's guide: "A seed’s size is often the best hint about how deep to plant it. Tiny seeds simply sit on the surface of the soil (needing light to germinate), larger ones get planted about 2-3 times as deep as they are wide (no light required)."

Some more specific guides, resources and projects that might help you along the way (get ready - there are a boatload of great links below!): 

An awesome Downloadable Seed Starting and Planting Schedule from Better Hens and Gardens

DIY Seed Starting: Newspaper Pots from Erin Boyle at Gardenista

Egg Carton Planters Tutorial at Coupons Are Great

Spring in an Egg: Seed Starting in Eggs at Small + Friendly

More Upcycled (and Low Cost!) Container Ideas for starting your seeds: 

Newspaper origami containers

cardboard tube containers

citrus peel containers

how to get free containers for indoor planting

coffee filter and cardboard seed starting trays

Seed Testing to make sure your seeds are good and how well they'll germinate: 

How to Tell if Seeds Are Still Good to Plant

A List of the Shelf Life of Seeds

A Quickie Seed Viability Test

How to Test Germination

More Seed Starting Trackers, Schedules and Documenting to keep track of everything once you get started:
Printable Garden Notebook
The Lazy Gardener's Seed Starting Chart
Seed Starting Chart by Temperature
Great Tips on Personalizing Your Seed Starting Calendar
Victory Seeds' List of Last Frost Dates by State
Free Printable Seed Starting Log and Garden Journal

Seed Starting Mixes in case you'd like to mix your own: 

Blend Your Own Seed Starting Mix

Making Your Own Seed Starting Mix

Chiot's Run's Seed Starting Soil Mix

DIY Grow Lights and Stands (for so much less than buying them!): 

DIY PVC Grow Light for Seed Starting

Grow Light Shelving for Seed Starting Indoors

DIY Heat Mats for Speed Seed Starting

Easy Homemade Heating Mats for Seed Starting

DIY Seed Starting Stand

Cold Frames and DIY Greenhouses if you'd rather work outside: 

3 Easy DIY Greenhouses for Under $300

Milk Jug Greenhouses 

Greenhouse Umbrellas

Rotisserie Chicken Container Mini Greenhouses

Low Cost Greenhouse Designed to Use Pallet Wood

Seed Sources now that you're ready to get started:  

Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds

Cubits Organics

Fedco Seeds

High Mowing Organic Seeds

John Scheeper's Kitchen Garden Seeds

Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply

Sand Hill Preservation Center, Seeds of Change

Seed Savers Exchange

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

Territorial Seed Company

WHEW! I think I've inundated you with enough for today:) I found so many fun links for labels/markers (that you'd actually use and make!) and for seed storage and seed saving that I'm saving them for another post closer to outside gardening time when it warms up. Is there anything I've missed that you'd like to see here? What are you planning to plant in your garden this year? Let me know in the comments!