tomato shortage

we can expect tomato prices to soar in the upcoming months due to 70% of florida's tomato crops failing due to inclement weather. the farmers hope to have more crops available by mid april. 

read more about the tomato shortage

luckily, we are at the perfect time in the season to begin sprouting our seeds indoors!

organic tomato seeds can be bought online or from one of your local stores. in order to cut back on waste, i do not suggest buying the plastic seed starter kits from major home improvement center. there are many, inexpensive and eco-friendly ways to start your seeds whether you want to go the DIY route or purchase. 

here are some great cedar handmade seed starter trays on etsy or here is a diy seed starter made from a TP roll:

there are many options for DIY seed starters such as egg cartons, yogurt containers, milk or juice cartons, TP or paper towel rolls, extra plant pots, etc. test your creativity and improvisational skills. if you are planning on having an indoor container garden, i would even say go right ahead and plant your seeds directly in the pots they will call home so you dont have to bother replanting them once they sprout. the most important part to starting seeds indoors is making sure you create a greenhouse effect. this can be accomplished by covering the container, tightly, with saran or plastic wrap. (sometimes i secure the plastic wrap with a rubber band, like for instance when using a water bottle.)

last year, we were fortunate enough to have a back yard, but even so, i did not trust the soil, so i still planted a container garden. but being that we had a backyard, i was able to go crazy and have a ton of plants, pots and containers.

 This year will be a bit more trying considering we live in a much smaller loft, and our window sill is already occupied with house plants (and a basil plant from my garden last year. ) Later today, I am taking a trip to IKEA to see if I can find something resembling a quarter of a bench or a maker shift shelf (it will have to have a bracket on one side, and a support beam on the other side) that will fit on the window ledge and create space underneath to accommodate our future seedlings.