So, the thing of it is, I’m not really a nurturer by nature. Let me just start there.

It started out so well. I watered, I babied, I fussed, I coddled. I tried sprouting leeks, but the tips all dried out and they toppled over. I tried cauliflower and lettuce, same thing. I tried a variety of beans, but most of the seeds rotted right in the peat pucks.

(On the beans front, I think that may be because I inoculated them. Maybe beans are supposed to go straight into the ground when you inoculate. Inoculant is a powder you toss on moistened bean seeds and is meant to help them draw nitrogen from the ground and grow better. We’ll never know if that works.)

In my defense I don’t have a greenhouse for these needy little sprouts, I just have a seed starter tray and a reasonably warm apartment where I regulate the heat by opening/closing the windows. It wasn’t enough.

Some of those little seedlings I sprouted actually made it from my care into the ground, I’m proud to say. I had lots of squash: zucchini, acorn and spaghetti. And there were a couple of each all long and green and happy when I planted them.

But sadly, it was too early to transplant. We had a few cold days. They died.

Lesson: Direct seed into the ground and the seeds will come up when they are darn good and ready. Works for me!