Alright… pepper update. And uh… We had an incident. So everything was going great. Seeds popped.Plants were growing.I was feeling like a responsible plant parent. Then I made one small mistake… I trusted the grow light a little too much. Turns out… Pepper seedlings + too-close grow light = tiny plant barbecue 🔥 Yeah… I crisped a couple of them. Not full destruction… but definitely enough for them to be like: “Hey… what was that???” What happened: - Light was a little too close - Leaves started getting that “crispy edge / faded look” - A few seedlings basically said “we’re out” What I learned (the hard way): - Peppers are tough… but not THAT tough 😂 - Light distance matters - “More light” is NOT always better The good news: Most of them are still doing great 🙌 And honestly? This is part of it. You don’t learn gardening by doing everything right… You learn it by slightly roasting your plants and adjusting 😅 Current setup changes: - Raised the light a bit - Keeping a closer eye on leaf color - Letting them recover instead of panicking Real talk: Nobody posts this part. But this is the part that actually makes you better. So if you’ve ever: - Overwatered - Burned plants - Forgotten something Congrats. You’re officially a gardener. If anyone else has accidentally cooked their seedlings before… Please tell me I’m not alone 😂🔥

Alright… quick sweet potato update. And before anyone says anything… Yes. I meant for this to happen 😄 I didn’t put these in jars to “try it out.” I put them in there because I wanted as many slips as possible when planting time hits. And right now? Mission accomplished. We’ve got: * Slips popping out everywhere 🌱 * Roots going absolutely wild in the jars * Leaves stacking on top of each other like they’re racing This isn’t a sweet potato anymore. This is a slip production system. The strategy: Instead of starting a few plants… I figured: Why not turn each potato into a whole line-up? More slips = more plants More plants = more harvest More harvest = more food (and maybe a little bragging 😏) The part I love about this: There’s something really satisfying about seeing it work exactly how you planned. No fancy setup. No complicated system. Just: * Water * Time * Letting the plant do its thing And sweet potatoes? They don’t hold back. Current situation: I’m basically farming plants… before they even hit soil 😂 Soon I’ll be: * Snipping slips * Rooting them * Getting them ready for the garden And when planting time comes… We’re not starting small. Real talk: If you’ve never done this before… This is one of the easiest ways to multiply your garden fast. You start with one potato… And end up with a whole army. And honestly? That was the goal all along

Went to check in the garlic bed today. I am one happy girl! This will be my first year with garlic. Fingers crossed 🤞

Hey Rooted Crew 👋 One of the things that used to stress me out every spring was trying to figure out when to start seeds. Should tomatoes start now? Am I late on peppers? Did I miss the window for cabbage? So I finally built something that solves that problem. I made a Planting Timeline Tool that calculates when to start seeds based on your last frost date. You just enter your information and it shows you: 🌱 When to start seeds indoors 🌱 When to transplant outside 🌱 When to direct sow crops 🌱 A simple visual planting schedule The goal was to make something simple enough for beginners but still useful for serious gardeners. You can try it here: 👉 [Planting Timeline Calendar] Why I Made This Honestly… I built it because I kept seeing people overwhelmed by seed starting. The truth is: Most gardening frustration comes from timing mistakes, not bad gardening. If the timing is right…a lot of problems disappear. I’d Love Your Feedback If you try the tool, tell me: • Did it make sense? • What crops should be added? • Anything confusing? I’m planning to add more tools like this for the community. Things like: 🧮 Soil mix calculators 🌾 Living soil calculators 🌱 Bed spacing planners 🌿 KNF schedules Basically a full homestead toolkit. So your feedback actually helps shape what gets built next. Challenge 🌿 Drop a comment with: 📍 Your growing zone🌱 The first seeds you’re starting this year Let’s see what everyone is planting.

Okayyyy we’ve got our first tiny green rebel popping up 🌱😂Nothing makes me more irrationally happy than seeing that little hook break through like, “Yeah… I live here now.” If you’re starting seeds too, drop a pic of your first sprout (or your “why won’t you sprout?!” tray) 👀👇