Starting a Garden From Seed

​I've had to get creative about planting a garden this year. In the past, we'd simply load up the car, head to Walmart, and buy some plants to put in the garden. This year, taking a trip to Walmart with my kids is impossible due to Connecticut's coronavirus restrictions. 
 
Instead, I dug out old seeds I had in the garage and did my best to start a garden from seed with what we had. Many of my seeds "expired" years ago.. we're talking 2015, so I don't even know when they were purchased. 
 
I went with the tried and true method of paper towel sprouting to see just what would actually grow. If you haven't done it before, all you do is take a paper towel, wet it so that it's damp, place the seeds in it, put it in a ziplock bag, place the bag in a dark area, and check back in a week to see if any seeds have sprouted. 
 
I was amazed at how many of the expired seeds sprouted! The ones that didn't were the zuchini and tomatoes... luckily it's early in the season so I'll try some more!

Next, I planted them in soil. Again, I had to get creative about pots because normally we buy more mature plants and put them right in the ground. Considering how much snow we've had this April, that would be pretty unwise! 
 
Instead, I went to the recycle bin for planters and used a leftover bag of soil. 

As of now, I'm out of dirt and will have to get digging for some more to transplant my seedlings in that have outgrown their first containers. 
 
This has been a unique experience for sure, but I'm thankful for the experience. If you consider the cost of buying older plants, versus a pack of seeds that you can use for years, it definitely makes sense to buy or save seeds. This has helped pull me closer to nature, and I hope my kids have learned a bit too! At least I know they like the dirt!

When I get to Walmart... one day... I'm excited to try out some creative strawberry planting ideas for small spaces! Any tips?