• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Home Garden Joy
  • Home
  • How to Garden
    • Seed Starting
    • Plant Profiles
    • Tools & Equipment
    • Raised Bed Gardening
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Herbs
  • Plant Based Recipes
    • Canning and Food Preservation
    • Salad Recipes
    • Soup Recipes
    • Vegetarian Meals
  • About
    • Books & Classes
      • Herbalism Classes
      • Indoor Herb Gardening
      • Books for Christian Herbalists
      • Privacy Policy

Seed Starting Update

March 16, 2017 by Jeanne

seed starting

Since the unusually cold weather has kept me indoors again, I thought I’d share a brief seed starting update.

By now, I’m usually out in the garden, “planting my peas on St. Patrick’s Day” and getting the new trellis system installed.  But the cold – the cold! UGH! It’s been going into the low 20s at night and yesterday, the temperatures reached the mid-40s. This is January weather here in south central Virginia, not March weather!

Hopefully, by this weekend, the weather will warm up again. We are expecting a little bit more seasonal weather and I’m planning on planting those peas, as well as lettuce and radishes.

In the meantime, my seed starting update is positive.

The tomato seedlings are growing like crazy! I had an old package of “Early Girl” tomato seeds and decided to plant some just to see if they would grow. While older, opened packages of seeds often fail to germinate, not only did these seeds germinate but they seem healthy and vigorous. If I can only figure out how to keep the crows from eating the ripe tomatoes this year, I should have a good harvest.

seed starting update

Last year, I purchased clary sage seeds from Select Seeds. I grew about six or seven plants and gave a few away to friends who love herbs as much as I do. Six plants remain in my garden beds. To my surprise, those growing in the most neglected of the flower gardens – hot, dry, and without supplemental watering – grew the best. Any plant that thrives on neglect finds a place in my garden. I decided to plant the remaining seeds and see what germinated. So far we have about four more plants but it’s early days yet. I am hoping for more clary sage seedlings.

seed starting

Can you see the tiniest little seed starting project above? Those tiny little plants are about the size of a grain of rice or smaller. This is St. John’s Wort. I purchased the seeds from Strictly Medicinal Seeds and plan to grow this beautiful, useful perennial both for the yellow flowers and for its medicinal properties. Although St. Johns Wort has received much attention as an antidepressant, the flowers can be made into a useful antibacterial/antimicrobial salve and tincture.

My brother photographed mature St. Johns Wort plants in Maine and they were so beautiful I decided to add the plant to my own garden this year. This will go in the new perennial garden area we cleared this winter. The flowers remaining in that garden are all yellow, and I plan on a yellow and blue theme with St. Johns Wort, daylilies, and irises as the yellows and plenty of salvia and sage for the blue-colored flowers.

seed starting

Here’s a picture of this year’s seed starting tower in my basement. The plants on the bottom shelves are just a few African violets that have been repotted or need repotting. African violets love fluorescent lights and will frequently produce buds and flowers if you move them under brighter lights. I am growing these violets for the Heart of Virginia Master Gardener plant sale this spring, so by May, I hope they are nicely greened up and blooming.

That’s all that’s happening here at Seven Oaks Farm. I had hoped to get outside and put up that new trellis system but it will have to wait until it is warmer out. I hope your seed starting projects are going well. Happy gardening, and keep growing!

Pin
Share
Tweet
0 Shares

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Previous Post: « Garden Update: Seed Starting, Orchard Worries and More
Next Post: Are Tulips Annuals or Perennials? »

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect!

  • Amazon
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Featured

logo of the american horticulture society

Explore All Gardening Articles

Seed Starting Basics

Easy Ways to Save Cantaloupe Seeds

plants and tools in a wheelbarrow

Starting Peppers from Seeds

tomato seedlings

Seed Starting Resources

tomatoes on the vine

When Should You Start Tomato Seeds Indoors?

Herbalism Classes & Supplies

Goods Shop by Herbal Academy – botanically inspired products

We were featured in Porch.com and answered reader's questions about indoor plants.

Disclosure

Home Garden Joyo participates in two affiliate programs: Amazon and The Herbal Academy. Home Garden Joy earns a commission from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. As an Herbal Academy Associate, HGJ also earns a commission when you sign up for classes or purchase herbs or supplies from The Herbal Academy.

Footer

raised bed garden

How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds

If you’re thinking about building a vegetable garden this year, raised beds are one of the best ways I know of to start a vegetable garden. Instead of renting a rototiller or hand-digging the soil, adding amendments and turning it all under to create a good garden bed, you start with the best soil mixture…

Read More

henbit close up

Henbit: Plant Profile

I’ve put together this henbit plant profile to spotlight a lovely plant – which many gardeners consider a weed. Weed or flower? To me, it’s a matter of perspective. Every spring, at least one of my raised beds is covered in a thick mat of henbit. Henbit is both lovely and practical despite being labeled…

Read More

fresh beets from the garden on the lawn after being washed

The Ultimate Guide to Growing Organic Beets

I wrote this Ultime Guide to Growing Beets to share my techniques for growing tasty, organic beets. Beets are a powerhouse of nutrition. Both the beetroot and the leaves and stems are edible. You can also can beets and beet greens to store them for year-round use. Here, I share with you a full guide…

Read More

a blue wheelbarrow and a red wheelbarrow filled with pine branches

Winter Homesteading Projects

Even though it’s cold and snowy out, winter homesteading projects beckon. As I write this, snow is falling in sheets outside my office windows, covering the orchard trees with a blanket of white. Last week, an ice storm knocked power out for 36 hours – and knocked pines down every which way. We had poles…

Read More

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Awards

Copyright © 2025 Home Garden Joy on the Foodie Pro Theme