Starting veggies from seed: tomatoes, peppers, squash, zucchini, cucumbers and more

Summary of Post
Starting seeds indoors, yourself, on a budget. As with last year I have started a bunch of seeds indoors so that they will be ready to transplant into my (hopefully) composted, tilled, and amazing raised beds when their time comes. Ever the miser, I got the entire operation going for under $5. I couldn't bring myself to buy starts - those trayed plantlets promising all manner of veggies.

How to start your seed for cheap:

• Scavenge seeds. A couple weeks before beginning this endeavor, start putting aside seeds from the veggies that you eat. For example, scoop out a spoonful of tomato seeds when slicing tomatoes for your salad. Most seeds simply need air dried on a paper towel. Tomato seeds are left to 'ferment' in a cup of water for a couple of days first (gets quite gross), then dried on a paper towel. I've had good luck simply using fresh seeds directly as well. In any case, heirloom veggie seeds are a better bet because hybrids probably won't come true to seed.

From weed patch to bounteous veggie garden

A sad, neglected weed patch

That's not going to be my garden this year! Last year I launched my 25 sq ft veggie and herb garden quite successfully - even starting all the seeds myself. I transplanted tomato, pepper, squash, swiss chard, zucchini, watermelon, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cantaloupe, pumpkin and cucumber starts. I put in little green plantlets that promised zinnia, sunflower, marigold. I even threw in some organic Russian fingerling and Russet potatoes for good measure. And corn too. I tried my hand at spinach, various lettuces, basil, coriander, beets, radishes, carrots, peas, beans. Did I mention okra, malabar spinach, nasturtiums and Jerusalem artichokes?

I can get over-ambitious sometimes :). It was my first experience gardening in the US and I wanted to experience it all! I figured I could figure it out on the fly, since I have like two degrees in farming. Yeah, so my Ag degrees were in tropical Malaysia and I didn't have a clue

Pastured vs organic 'cage free' eggs

Can you pick out which are the pastured eggs and which are
the store-bought 'cage-free' organic eggs?

I love eggs! They are the ultimate fast food for me and I start my morning with four over easy or with garlic and tomatoes in an omelette.

There's nothing better than a freshly laid egg from one of our family's free-range hens. The yolks sit high and proud, radiating a deep orangey goodness. The sort of goodness that comes from happy birds and sunny days spent scratching dirt and pecking bugs and greens. And the flavor, oh my... I eat around the yolk - the whites go in my eager belly first - then slide the entire yolk into my mouth where it does a slo-mo burst/ooze...mmmm mmmm mmmmm....

I sometimes resort to organic cage-free eggs (Egglands Best) because