OK, I just had to get outside today.

This morning it seemed every time I stuck my head out it rained on me. Hard. In between thunderstorms it was absolutely gorgeous though!

Doubt me? Here is the sky

Gorgeous Sky!

When it cleared off I spent a little time harvesting some young nettles for sauteing and soup-and set some in the shed to dry.

Young Nettles

Nettle is my favorite herb for hay fever season…

Then I went and checked on some little herb seedlings in the greenhouse.

A Few Herb Seedlings

Herb Seedlings in the Lean-to Greenhouse

Everything looked absolutely peachy so I headed back to the house…just in time to get drenched again.

Here is an uber-simple way to start growing herbs early-without a greenhouse and without a lot of snazzy garden gear. Perfect for those of you that garden in cooler (and cold) climates this mini greenhouse is completely portable.

Herb Seedlings in a Tub

Here’s what you need to make your own movable mini-greenhouse/ portable cold frame :

A clear plastic tub-preferably more than 6″ deep for herb headroom

Some containers- or pots. Recycled containers are good.

Potting or seed starting mix or potting soil

Looking through A Seedling Tub

The How To:

Moisten your soil mix, and load up for containers.

Read your seed packet planting instructions and plant seeds according to them!

Place containers in the tub..or tubs.

Set outside on sunny days in a protected area. Prop the lid up, set it sideways on the tub, or take it off altogether-if the weather is warm enough. If you see condensation forming ,it’s too hot in your little greenhouse!

Make sure you give those seedlings some air, or you’ll end up with fungal diseases.

They will dry out in the sun and seedlings do need to be kept moist. Touch the top of the soil-if it feels dry gently water.

Depending on what you planted-you should see seedlings before long.

Bring them in before the temperatures dip in the afternoon. Rinse and repeat!

Recycled Containers In a Tub Mini Greenhouse

There are lots of companies out there, and each will list different information on their seed packages. In this video I explain a few of the things you might find on a seed packet and what they mean.

I mention plant hardiness zones in the video.  If you aren’t sure what that is, learn more here about that topic!

I like to leave the seed heads on a lot of my flowers and herbs out in the garden. Birds and other creatures eat the seeds during the winter and then in the spring I always find lots of these little starts under my pine trees.  Why?

The birds nest in the pines! After the birds have eaten the Echinacea seeds, they get “gift wrapped” in bird poop and deposited beneath the trees.  It’s a sort of  messy little fertilizer package !

Since Echinacea won’t thrive on the heavy shade of the pine trees I end up yanking most of the volunteer starts, but occasionally I’ll replant some of them into a new herb bed. When the Echinacea plants are three years old I dig up the roots for tincture making. These plants will be dug up next fall.