Even though it is only March, it is not too early to be thinking about your garden. It's a little too early to put plants in the ground, but it is the perfect time to start some seedlings. This is a fun project and a money saver too. You can pick up seeds at any hardware store or garden center, find just about anything you'd like to grow, and rather than pay $3-$7 per plant, you'll pay $1-$2 for more seeds than you know what to do with.

I am starting out this year with tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, pumpkins, cilantro, basil, sunflower and a wildflower mix for less than a $10 investment. I also bought a bag of potting soil for around $4.

To make my own seed trays, I used some things I had sitting round the house. I started with some small green paper cups and some larger plastic cups left over from my super bowl party. I punctured the bottom of the paper cups with a nail about 5 times for drainage, then nested the paper cups inside the plastic cups to catch the drips from watering. I watered all of the soil lightly before planting to make sure it was damp, but not muddy. Each seed packet will give you information on how deep to plant the seeds, but as a general rule, small seeds can go just below the surface of the soil, and larger seeds (pumpkins, sunflowers) like to be planted a little deeper, a few inches into the soil.

I used a plastic tab notebook divider, cut into strips, to make plant markers and marked the name of each plant on the plastic strips with a black marker. I was going to use the bottom half of a box to house my planter cups, but then remembered the wooden crates I saved from the Clementine's I bought from the grocery over the winter. They look really cute and are perfect for making the seedling cup planters easy to move in and out of the house.

Because it is so early in the spring, we are still getting some pretty cold temperatures at night, so I move my seedlings out on the porch during the day to get some sun, and move them back in the house in the evening to protect them from the frost. Keeping your seedlings from getting too cold is important. They like to get a little sun when weather permits, but most of all, they like damp soil. So keep them watered. You can even cover the tops of the cups with plastic wrap or an additional clear plastic cup (like a tiny terrarium) to keep the moisture in. Make sure to remove any plastic cover before you put them in direct sunlight, or you will cook their little leaves like bugs under a magnifying glass.

And look! After only a few days, I already have tiny sprouts!

Aren't they cute?

Starting your own seedlings is not only a cost effective way to garden, but it's very satisfying. With minimal effort you will be on your way to a wonderful harvest this summer.