Last we spoke, I was attempting to be inspirational to myself and show you my total failures from last year.  That isn’t how I normally am, so, back to the practical guide this site is meant to be.

I stopped by the local hardware store and picked up the following items:

• 1 x cubic foot gardening soil (not potting)
• 4 x new small planters (with bases), to bring my total to 12
• 2 x 75W Philips Plant Light Bulbs
• 2 x portable light fixtures with built-in clamp
• 2 x 5 gallon bucket with lids
• 2 x can of matte black spray paint

Upon getting home, I took the black spray paint and coated one of the lid/bucket pairs, and let it dry.  I then took enough of the old dirt (from last year), which is still a good base, and filled the bucket 3/4ths of the way up.  I took the new gardening soil (which is very rich in nutrients), and filled the bucket up the rest of the way, added some water, and mixed thoroughly by sealing the bucket, and shaking vigorously.  This gave me a wonderful custom made seed mix for only $6 including the bucket.  I also managed to pick up a two shelf wheeled cart for free from a nice lady across the way who was moving out and knew I gardened.  I now use it to hold gardening supplies (including beer and tasty frozen drinks from local convenience stores).

Now, I bet you are asking, why the hell did he paint the bucket black? Well, I plan on using this and the other bucket for the purpose of plant compost.  Black absorbs more heat of the sun and will heat the inside of the bucket better.  Hopefully, producing better compost.  I have lots of dead plant matter from last year (and every year from my other plants I perennial plants I have).  If you are interested in the composting, I still am as well and  I will be doing an article on it when I manage to accomplish setting up some compost of my own.

OK, I then took the soil and put it into my 12 small seed starting planters that I used last year.  Mounted the lights above my bar, and organized them in a way to assist in ensuring the best equal amount of light I can offer indoors.

I will let the soil set for at least 24 hours and water 3 times within that span to ensure proper soil compaction, moisture distribution, and particle spacing to prevent the soil from settling while the seeds are in the pots.  I am also running the lights on a 12 on 12 off cycle. Example: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. or 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.  I know, it’s just dirt, but the goal here is to simulate a perfect outdoors environment indoors, so, I’m gonna roll with it for now (perhaps a controlled experiment at a later date to determine it’s usefulness is in order).