It all started with Bell Peppers and an Idea

Back in January of 2018 I had a genius idea to say "Fuck you" to super markets like Wal-Mart and start a garden. I thought to myself - Why buy the same fruits and vegetables over and over again every week or so when I can grow them myself...and eventually profit off of it - at this time my mother and I had been buying these Bell Pepper 3-packs with a Red, Orange and Yellow Bell Pepper that were Organic and Non-GMO and really good cooked or raw. So I decided to grow them and asked mom for the starting materials that were recommended by the few gardening Youtubers I had watched directly after my grand decision was made; Seed starting mix, seed starting cells, non fluoridated water (Reverse Osmosis/Distilled) and a grow light. As soon as I acquired the materials, I went to work, and planted my first batch of pepper seeds. I have logged everything I done since those first seeds were harvested on 1/30/18 and I will continue to document my experience for others to be inspired to start their own gardens (Indoors or Outdoors) and grow their own food, it's really easy and doesn't take alot of time like some people think and is a great hobby/lifestyle to have especially if you have children like I do, it is a great stress reliever and a fantastic skill that everyone should have especially this new generation.

These are the events recorded from 1/30/18-3/31/18

1/30/18 - Attained first batch of Bell Pepper seeds
2/3/18 - First batch of Bell Pepper seeds dried
2/13/18 - 2nd batch of Bell Pepper seeds attained
2/14/18 - 2nd batch of Bell Pepper seeds dried
2/15/18 - Planted first batch of seeds planter #1 - Log for future reference
Materials - Big bowl (for soil), Newspapers/Paper towels, Seed Starters, Something to mark the planted seed type, Seed Containers (to keep them from being mixed up and to keep them fresh), Spray Bottle, Distilled/Reverse Osmosis Water, Soil (Seed Starting Mix), Jar (to keep extra soil), Container for extra water, Pots, Stovetop, Markers and Pens.
Method - Take newspapers or paper towels and spread them out on a table (or any flat surface), place your big bowl on the paper platform to prevent a big mess. Get seed starters and keep near bowl. Pre-moistening soil - take soil and pour into bowl (My first seed starting mix was from American Seed and wasn't very good but I didn't buy it and it came from dollar tree...from experience don't get anything that goes inside your garden - soil, fertilizer, seeds, etc - garden from dollar tree), Spray with warm water or pour boiling water into mix until saturated but not muddy, make sure you can squeeze the soil and there's no dripping water, mix well until thoroughly moist but not overly wet. Take soil and fill up planter to top, level soil, press down with thumb once, repack with more soil and flatten again. Planting seeds - placed 2-5 seeds in each cell (I was very eager to grow something and didn't have any idea about proper planning and space requirements) (max 5 per cell), lightly press seeds into soil top and add more soil, just enough to cover the seeds and flatten smooth. Watering - Separate cells from water catching tray, pour warm water into bottom of water catching tray, place cells back into water catching tray - Bottom watering method - soil absorbs the amount of water it needs to become fully moistened which should take about 20-30 minutes and whatever is not absorbed should be poured out to prevent molding or bugs to take refuge there.I also sprayed the tops with warm water to ensure the seeds got water to promote sprouting. place near south facing window and or under bright grow light approximately 1-2 inches away depending on how warm they are in proximity to planter and soil, check soil periodically to make sure it stays warm, Peppers are tropicals and like warm temperatures. Let the top soil dry out to prevent mold and fungus from forming.
2/21/18 - First signs of sprouted seeds, put extra seeds into water to soak to be sprouted and ready to be planted on Fri, Sat or Sun (2/23/18-2/25/18) in 2nd planter

2/22/18 - Sprayed with Baking Soda and water solution to stop mold from growing
2/24/18 - Watered Bell Peppers Batch #1, Planted 2nd batch of all 3 Bell Pepper Varieties using same method as before (This was before I knew Bell peppers are the same thing despite the color i.e. Green, Yellow, Orange, Red), Acquired New Seeds!!! Ferry Morse - Sage (Broad Leaf) and Echinacea
(aka Purple Coneflower)- Also Planted first Sage plant in bottle planter (Cut the top off of some water bottles and used them as pots), Placed extra Bell Pepper seeds from batch #2 on paper towel to redry for later use, Placed Echinacea seeds in Fridge wrapped in wet paper towel in a bottle pot in the refrigerator for stratification (simulated winter for seeds to germinate better...turns out a few months later this wasn't necessary for the seeds I had)
2/27/18-3/9/18 - Watered Bell Pepper batches #1&2 + Sage #1
3/11/18 - Watered Bell Peppers batch #1&2 + Sage #1, got New Soil (Jiffy Seed Starting Mix) and Modified Beefsteak Tomato (from Burpee with are GMO and grow super fast, Burpee seeds are GMO), the resat are from Ferry Morse which are not GMO - Lavender (Munstead) and Rosemary Seeds. Milestone - First signs of sprouting in Bell Peppers batch #2

3/12/18 - New Seed packs Acquired: Longstanding Cilantro, Sweet Basil...I think I did not record when new Seeds were acquired but...I Planted: Cilantro, Basil, Sage, Rosemary, Lavender, Echinacea and BS Tomato seeds, Added Moist seed starting mix to new compost bin
3/13/18 - Watered everything that needed to be watered

3/14/18 - Watered Everything Again, Multiple sprouts in Bell Peppers batch #2 with one complete seed sprouts (completely out of seed shell with seed leaves free) - Stage - Seed Leaves, Here's where the issue with the American seed soil start - Dug up Bell Pepper batch #1's seeds and found them rotting so I scraped the entire planter and dumped them soil into compost bin
3/15/18 - About 6-10 Basil seeds have sprouted and are looking healthy!!! Bell Pepper sprout cell has 3 other sprouts pulling out of the soil first sprout is looking and feeling great, currently sun bathing in the screen door and listening to some smooth Jazz, Whoo!, Put some Bell Pepper seeds on a plate with a wet paper towel to soak for later planting to replace the failed batch #1, Watered everything, New Plant - set Mango pit out to dry out to harvest the seed inside and sprout it in water, Harvested seed out of mango pit and placed in glass of water
3/16/18 - Echinacea #1&2 have sprouts and so do the tomatoes!! More Bell Pepper sprouts popping through the soil and out of the seed shells, Watered all garden plants, Tomatoes are popping out everywhere now!!! Basil Growing Tall and Strong! And so is the first Bell Pepper sprout in batch #2, 2nd furthest Bell Pepper sprout is almost completely out of seed shell, added 2nd mango seed to water to sprout, Compost bin has ants in it and is almost a third of the way full
3/17/18 - Watered Everything, Tomatoes and Basil showing signs of starting to grow growing tips above seed leaves, especially Basil Sprouts! Sage sprout broke through the soil I don't any pictures until May which will be shown in a later post but I do have a few videos but cannot attach them so visual updates will be available in the post including May's updates!
3/20/18 - Watered Everything except Bell Peppers batches #2&3, Milestone - True leaves are budding on Basil #1, Growing tips on Tomatoes are popping out! Changed container and water for Mango seeds to grow their roots better, Planted Sage #3, Sage #2, Basil #1, BS Tomatoes and Bell Peppers #2 are putting out growing tips and working towards 2nd set of true leaves, Echinacea #1&2 also putting out main stem
3/21/18 - Milestone - Transplanted: Tomatoes x6 + Trio (there were 3 Tomato seedlings that sprouted very close to each other and it was my intention to keep them together during their growth...but shit happens and you'll find out about that soon), 1 Bell Pepper, 2 Basil, 1 Echinacea, scrapped the rest of Bell Pepper batch #2 due to rotted seeds like batch #1 (was also in the American Seed Seed Starting Mix), Watered Everything- including house plants, Compost Bucket is almost full and is has fruit flies and ants, but not for long!!!
3/22/18 - Had and Accident...again -_-, All Cup Transplants and Bottle plants fell and soil spilled over, Basil #2 has lost it's head (might Grow Back...I don't remember if it grew back), Tomato Trio is looking weak and 1/3 lost a leaf and seed leaves are wilting but may recover (They didn't sadly), may have to resow Rosemary, Cilantro and Sage in bottle pots...On to Good news from this day - Mango seed #1's Root is growing strong, Both are splitting near the root/stem opening
3/23/18 - Watered Egg carton plants (BS Tomatoes and Herbs were planted in Egg cartons), Milestone - Bell Peppers #3 is Sprouting all over in the new soil and aren't struggling to to get out of the seed shells, Bell Peppers #1 has dawned it's 2nd set of leaves nicely in it's new home, Cilantro sprouts are looking strong and healthy, Sagehas it's 2nd set of leaves now, Lavender needs more attention, Rosemary has yet to sprout
3/24/18 - Watered all garden plants, Replaced the dead BS Trio Tomatoes with with Sage sprouts
3/25/18 - Put yellow onion bottom in water to start growing once more soil is acquired, Changed water in Mango seeds dish, 2nd seed's root is starting to develop, Cilantro is putting out true leaves, Lots of Bell Pepper Sprouts! Everything is looking great!
3/29/18 - Updates & Milestones - Tomato Growth is Fucking Fantastic!!! Both Basil Cups starting to bush out - putting out new leaves at stem junctions and starting 4th junction leaves
3/31/18 - Watered all garden plants that needed water

And that concludes the Grow Log from January to March, up to this point it I was super excited to be gardening finally and seeing my plants grow, with little effort I might add, was just such an amazing feeling and it continues today 6 months later with a mini jungle in my office/living room in this 2nd floor apartment with a south facing patio sliding door...which isn't very effective anymore being that it's summer and the sun is directly above and the roof keeps the window door in complete shade so my plants no longer get direct sun, they get reflected sunlight from the the patio and sky, so I've remedied this with Grow lights, don't think like I did that grow lights are special lights made just for gardening, they can be but any Lights that are bright enough to mimic sunlight will do the trick. I started of with a couple of old style Flood lights and some Compact Florescent energy saving bulbs that got popular some years ago (the spiral kind) and have since upgraded with more lights and better lights that will be shown in my next blog here on Steemit where I took lots of pictures of everything I purchased to upgrade the garden into what it has become along with everything I did with those items and the progress, successes, setbacks and challenges I've faced since the last recorded date.
If you are interested in joining me along my journey as a Gardener and other adventures I set out on, Follow me for new blogs and updates on Gardening (with backstory, updates, milestones, tutorials, and more), Gaming, Art, Photography, Poetry, and Entrepreneurship Ventures. I'm happy to be apart of this growing community of Steemit and helping people find passion in a seemingly lost skill and am excited in where it takes me in the future, if you don't mind I'd like to take you with me...but until next time, See you later!