The seed catalogues are calling your name, but your home leaves much to be desired to start this years seeds. Maybe you don’t have a south facing window, or the one you do have has no ledge to rest plants on, or your apartment is basically a window-less dungeon. You’d like to get a grow light set up, but let’s be real. You don’t have the space, your kids or pets would get into everything, and you just feel like scrapping the whole idea. Besides, who has $200-$600 for a really nice set-up with shelves and everything?
There is another way.
Do you drink milk from plastic jugs? (Or could you get someone who does to save theirs for you?)
Do you have a small deck or other flat outdoor space that gets a decent amount of light?
Great! You can start seeds this year. . . even if you live in a place as cold as zone 3. I’ll show you how.

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots. She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden. She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.