Transplants!

It's finally time to plant some seeds! Even though we've been slammed with snow storm after snow storm the last few weeks, it's time to do some planting at long last. I was overwhelmed with excitement when I got to go pick out some seeds and soil, but I also got a bit anxious, because I've never had a garden much bigger than  a 4x4 foot box. I got a mighty pile of packets, veggies and flowers galore, so I'm apparently feeling ambitious. We are in zone 4, so transplants for putting out in May-June should be started around now.  Since it can be cold an awfully long time here, I'm going to try and play it safe until the dangers of frost are past until I get a feel for the climate. We are 15 miles away from the Great Lake Superior, so it's supposed to be warmer and have a longer grow season, but we shall see how that pans out.

 I started with a soil starter mix, which from my research an organic version is made from compost, perlite, vermiculite, coir or peat, and sometimes variations on other things I wasn't too familiar with... (greensand anyone?) So this year I just bought a bag of organic soil starter.  The idea is that it holds moisture and gives the fledgling seeds extra food while they struggle to sprout.

Here's my stash so far:

I started the Asian Pear cherry tomatoes, petunias, regular cherry tomatoes and a Carnival pepper mix. The rest will have to be patient and wait for the 3 feet of snow to melt.

Here's the set-up I have so far:

 The top container is a greenhouse kit I got, It has coconut coir pots that fit nicely into a plastic tray, with a clear top to hold in the moisture and keep the little seeds moist enough to sprout. I planted the petunias in some egg shells I have been saving, because when you're ready to plant you just squish the shell and stick it in the ground, and wallah! 

These are placed in the south facing window of our basement, that I'm hoping is warm enough. We will find out in about a week if there are little green shoots popping up.Well, this will surely be a learning process, so any advice anyone has is greatly appreciated. Here goes nothing!