It's my second year of doing a garden. I started some stuff indoors, but it didn't do all that well.

Part of the problem is I picked the wrong seeds (squash and cucumbers) to germinate indoors. Squash and cucumbers can go directly into the soil after the last frost date (mid-May in northern Rhode Island where I live).

But it must have also had to do with how I transplanted the seedlings from smaller containers and into the outdoor garden. I know this because I gave away a bunch of seedlings to friends and families – and they all ended up producing a lot of fruit.

The stuff that did a lot better, on the other hand, are the seeds I planted directly into the garden. These were tomatoes, peppers, green beans, and corn.

Learning in Public

Selfishly, I'm sharing to document while I learn about how to garden. I am not thinking about "my audience" – and what they want to learn about –even though it's something I believe we need to do a lot more of! (Here's another essay about that)

Instead, I hope to "learn in public." Writing and rewriting notes are powerful note-taking strategies. They force you to engage in meaningful reflection on what you're learning, which is a really effective practice for retaining and retrieving information.

Starting Seeds Indoors: Stuff I need to get started

(Source: Starting Seeds Indoors guide from tomato gardening guru Craig LeHoullier and Joe Lam'l.)

• Sterile Potting mix: Buy the light, fluffy stuff. Don't use your garden soil because it could introduce spores that can damage seeds.

• Egg cartons with holes poked through in the bottom.

• A warm spot near a window that gets lots of sun.

• Inexpensive heating mats to increase soil temperature and improve germination.

• Plastic wrap to place tightly over cells during germination.