Old (and current) pagan rituals put the spring equinox into cyclical perspective as a joyful time of rebirth and renewal, a celebration of things green and growing
Some gardeners honor the official beginning of spring by planting peas. Not me. I rearrange the dining room furniture. What else would any normal person do on The Day of Zero Tilt!
What, you want the Quick Time movie version?
Pagan or otherwise, gardeners celebrate spring in many ways, and my favorite spring ritual is starting seeds. It's something to do while I itch for the last average frost date to get here and I just plain find the seed packets irresistible. I always buy "the pretty ones" and they are all pretty.
The basics of seed starting are not too difficult, and although I have grown thousands of plants from seed it is always a leap of faith for me to expect most of them to grow. Just remember one seed packet may hold hundreds or even thousands of seeds, depending on the variety. No wonder many beginners (and old timers!) discover they have started waaaay too many plants!
Finding space for all those seedlings can be a real scramble. Here's a helpful hint: how often do you really use that dining room?
Once you've rearranged the furniture, your biggest challenge is to provide your seedlings with adequate light. The sad fact is that the proverbial sunny windowsill is usually not adequate.
The answer is ordinary florescent lights -- lots of them. For about sixteen hours a day. The bulbs should be kept close to the plants, within about two inches, which means the lights have to be raised (or the plants lowered) in step with the plant growth. This can be tricky if you grow more than one type of plant since some seedlings rocket upward and others stay short or tiny for weeks.
The next problem is watering. Tiny plants can literally dry out and crisp to death under the bright lights, but they will also succumb to assorted rots if kept too wet.
The final problem is repotting. Those little babies grow! Are we having fun yet?
I love seeds. They grow like magic! Cabin fever hits me hard every winter and so I shop the seed catalogs and haunt the seed rack displays, dreaming and hoping for spring. It always makes me feel better to bring home a little bit of spring-in-a-packet!
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