I wasn't going to tell you about this if it didn't work, but it did.
When I started my indoor seedlings last week, I planted seeds from packets that had expired. Most were stamped with the warning, "Packed for 2006. Sell by 12/06."
So take that, seed company! They still work.
The germination rate wasn't great, but it was good enough. Already I have a bunch of purple basil sprouts and a few sprouts of Swiss chard. I'm still holding out hope that some of the old marigold seeds will work, too.
That's the good news.
The bad news is I'm going to have to find a place to plant these extra seedlings and I'm already squeezed for space.
My garden from last year — three long, narrow raised beds surrounded by chicken wire to keep the rabbits out — already is half full with shell peas and leaf lettuce.
I was so proud of myself when I planted those seeds because, for the first time, I felt I was being realistic about how much space a full-grown plant takes up. I gave the seeds lots of room to stretch out.
But where is everything else going to go?
What about the tomatoes and poblano peppers from the fresh 2008 seed packets that are growing under lights in my basement? (I intentionally bought only two types of seed to grow indoors this year, trying to scale back. So much for that.)
What about the green bean seeds and all the staples I want to buy from the garden store: zucchini, hot peppers, parsley, dill, sweet basil, cilantro?
I need more garden space, fast. The Memorial Day planting frenzy is only a few weeks away. I have no money and only very short, unpredictable bursts of time to put into this.
In an ideal world I would make "no dig" raised beds on top of the lawn. According to the Internet, all I need is a little Lucerne hay and the manure of various farm animals. No problem!
The alternative would be to dig up the grass the old-fashioned way. Even in a good year, I've never been able to dig more than one new garden bed before collapsing from exhaustion.
The garden book I happen to be reading, "Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web," makes a compelling case for "no dig" gardens. Digging or tilling is bad for the living organisms in the soil, the authors say, and those organisms feed plants and protect them from diseases.
Whatever I decide to do, it's going to be a project.
I guess I've officially failed at simplifying the yard work this year.
The other day, as I was digging weeds out of a flower bed, I congratulated myself for taking a year to focus on maintaining the gardens I have rather than planting new ones.
If I ever manage to actually make it through a garden season without expanding something, I will definitely deserve those congratulations.
Julie Kirkwood is a freelance writer for The Eagle-Tribune. Her column, Yard Dirt, appears most weeks in At Home, Sunday North. She also keeps a gardening blog, Yard Dirt: Sharing Seeds, at www.eagletribune.com.
