Green Daily

I've done my share of gardening. But other than a few radishes that I grew in the first grade, it's been of the inedible sort. I'm able to identify many common flora and fauna in suburban landscapes. I'm able to help customers in the garden section of those big box stores when they can't find a warm body, let alone one with a brain, to answer a question. But food gardening was never my thing until the Neighborhood Garden Project.

I was so excited when I saw organic seed packets at a local big box, I went ahead and bought them. But there are many resources on the Web, including this one. The sowing was happily handed over to my friend and neighbor Jennifer. The practice was handed down to her by way of a grandfather who successfully grew most of his garden literally from the ground, or seed, up.

Jennifer used miniature greenhouses like this one purchased from a home and garden center. They are sectioned trays that include small soil patties that expand once water and seeds are added. She's filled them up and marked the crops in her basement and hung a light source above the trays to mimic sun. After starting the process only a few days ago, some seedlings (in photo) have already begun to sprout. Jennifer will begin a hardening off process in a couple of weeks and then, after the last frost sometime in April, we can transfer the plants to the site.

The next installment in the Neighborhood Garden Project series will appear in two weeks.