Last week was wet and cool but the weather has improved greatly and it’s beginning to feel like springtime here in Central Pennsylvania. The Red Buds and other flowering trees are in full bloom, the grass needs mowing, and I’m finally spending more time tending to the garden.

I was recently introduced to a gene line of ice-bred leafy greens that may be very useful to cold climate gardeners. These leafy greens are amazing in their ability to perform under bitterly cold growing conditions. They also offer a taste treat that is noticeably more robust and flavorful than your typical leafy green vegetables.

The Broad Street Market in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania hosted a free seed planting workshop over the weekend. The event was sponsored by the Tri-County Opportunities Industrial Center, the Dauphin County Master Gardeners, and the Broad Street Market.

Sometimes you do all the right things to start your own seeds indoors; from using the best seed starting supplies, to providing the finest care for your seedlings, and somehow things still go awry and you find yourself facing seed starting problems. Today I’m going to wrap up this series of posts on seed starting techniques by providing some trouble shooting ideas for what to do when good seeds go bad… really bad!

The previous entry in this series on raising vegetable transplants examined the seed starting supplies and equipment required to germinate seedlings indoors. Today we’ll look at all the steps involved in growing your own transplants from seed.

Now that you’ve embraced the benefits of seed starting and are ready to grow your own vegetable transplants, let’s take inventory of the seed starting supplies and equipment that will be required.

This week I’ll be posting a short series of articles detailing seed starting tips to help you plant and grow your own vegetable, flower, and herb seedlings to transplant out into the garden. What’s the big deal about starting your own seedlings? Well read on for some of the benefits to be gained.

I recently wrote about the worth of Chickweed, an unpopular but edible weed that is commonly found growing in lawns and gardens. Today’s post examines another universally despised weed; the Dandelion. If you can look beyond its tarnished reputation spring is the perfect time to enjoy a batch of fresh dandelion greens.