My most loved seed starting essentials!

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I have been seed starting for 3 winters now & I love it.  I think it's my favorite part of gardening!

I can't believe I used to be intimidated by starting my own seeds!  They do take a bit of work but it's so satisfying to see the smallest seeds turn into the most beautiful plants.

Over the years, I have developed my own seed starting techniques.  I'm sharing a few essentials that I've used every year so far.

This isn't a one size fits all guide--it's just what I do to start my garden.  My setup is super simple & I try to use the things that will save me time & money.

Here are 5 essentials I use in my seed starting:

I thought a super snowy day would be the perfect time to write about seed starting!  Haha!

Seed starting is one of my favorite things.  This will be my 3rd year starting plants from seeds & I just love it.  I began my seed starting journey in 2020 when the world shut down just for something to keep me busy.  I ended up loving it so much that I have been seed starting every year since!

I'll do another post with my favorite seed starting supplies, but I want to talk today about where I'll be seed starting.

I really wanted to start seeds in the greenhouse this year.  The greenhouse still needs some finishing touches to make it ready for plants.  A big thing is insulation.  It is a drafty nightmare right now!  

Another thing the greenhouse needs is electricity.  I really want to run electric through the entire greenhouse so I can use a heater, grow lights & heating mats.

I was originally going to share this recipe in the fall but it was a busy time & I never got around to posting it.

I always thought of fruit crisp as being a fall recipe.  The truth is, it's good any time of the year!

I used a can of blueberry pie filling when I made it but it would be so great with seasonal fruits throughout the year!

My mom has been making this fruit crisp recipe for years.  It's the best!  I never realized how easy it was to make until I made it yesterday.  It has been years since I made it & I forgot how easy it is.  There are only 5 ingredients total!  It also comes together super quickly.  Another thing I love is that it only takes one bowl to make & the bowl is pretty clean when it's done.  I hate cleaning up a lot of messy dishes!

I have tried to write this post several times but the words don't seem quite right.

My life doesn't seem quite right.

This year was supposed to be a time of great joy for our family but cancer took that away from us.  We had so many plans & reasons to look forward to the future.  When we officially found out James had cancer in July 2021, it was devastating.  It was one of those things I never thought in a million years would happen to us.

I knew cancer would change our lives forever but I didn't know things would escalate this quickly.

On New Year's Day 2007, James & I spent some time dreaming at the property I own.  That year, we made our first home there & built the property from the ground up.  When the opportunity came to purchase our current home in 2015 we put it back together again.  It was a foreclosure that needed a lot of work & James spent 7 months getting it just right.