Naturally Wild

Spring is a little more than a month away! 

As a lover of summer and warm weather, I’m starting the countdown. However, with spring quickly approaching means that we don’t have much time to prepare seedlings for our gardens. Remember, around Thanksgiving, Naturally Wild had a blog post about composting and its wonderful growing properties. Well it’s time to put that compost to work. All the nutrients that our compost piles have been building up through the holidays will be just what those little seedlings need for a fresh start this spring. Lots of seeds can be sowed inside in our compost and transplanted outside to our garden areas between March and April. This is an excellent opportunity to teach our little ones about a plant’s life cycle: how they start out as seeds, then grow into plants that give off fruits, and lastly decompose to become part of the compost for next year. It is a wonderful self-sustaining process that not only provides them with a learning activity but also a chance to get a little dirty and appreciate where some of their food comes from. And you’ll be able to enjoy some fresh organic greens for super cheap!

So how do we get started? Well, save the cardboard carton the next time you finish a carton of eggs, cut out each individual section, place compost dirt in each section, and plant your seeds. Then when the time comes to transplant them outside, you will be able to stick the carton section in the ground without having to take the seedling out. This will reduce stress on the plant and giving you the best possible chance of getting some home-grown fruits and veggies. The carton will decompose around the plant leaving some extra nutrients so it can grow. Plants that you can start sowing inside this time of year are broccoli, spinach, swiss chard, kale, eggplant, leeks, tomatoes, onions, and peppers.