Ahhhh, it's Nebraska.
I have 12 bean plants, snug in their yogurt containers, happily sprouted, 5 of them with at least their first set of secondary leaves on (a good sign of whether they'll continue to survive), and the other 7 that have at least initially broken through the soil, just in time for a late season Nebraska snowstorm! They are not in any sort of danger, sitting happily on the heated side of my sliding glass balcony door (which is the coolest place in the living room, around 65 degrees), and they'll go back out when it's warm enough for them again. I think I forgot to mention, since it's second nature to me, that they are sitting in a box that I've cut down to just above the top of the containers and lined with some plastic wrap, although in years past I've also used a plastic grocery bag for the same job, which made bringing them in (or moving them anywhere for that matter) very easy.
This does not include the 16 containers sitting in my kitchen by the way, waiting for them to sprout or show some sign of life, 10 of which I planted today. I chose my kitchen counter because it's close to the sprayer in the sink, which makes it easy for me to give the little ones a quick (and gentle) drink, and also ensures that they are closely monitored, since they sit on the same counter where I add milk to my coffee. Several times a day, as I'm doing other things, I can monitor them to make sure they aren't drying out, to see if anything is peeking through the soil (which will get them moved to the tray by the window at the moment, or outside when it gets reasonable again in a day or two). As I've moved them to the "sprouted" box, I've gotten more yogurt containers out and planted more, so there's a continuing rotation going of the plants being newly planted, sprouting, sitting in the sunlight and "hardening" (getting used to the conditions they'll face outside, which are not nearly as nice as they are on my kitchen counter). I have to move them to at least partial sunlight as soon as they sprout, also a consideration, since my kitchen has absolutely no sunlight, and it is the sunlight that powers their growth once they are sprouted.
I have in total now 29 yogurt containers planted with 2 bean seeds each, 12 sprouted, and 5 with their first set of real leaves on them. I will only need 6 plants for my personal use, but the package of seeds I bought was 1 oz., and doesn't seem quite half empty yet lol. I have one pot planted with bell pepper seeds, but I haven't seen any of them come up yet, and I have yet to start on the tomato or petunia seeds. I may have to find yogurt on sale soon so I have more containers!
In a way, I'm happy the weather is so unhappy outside. The tray of seedlings sits a couple of feet away from my desk, and it's nice to be able to look over and check on their progress, which can be remarkable even through a single day, since they can go from just barely peeking through the soil to standing almost straight up and showing their baby leaves in that time, under the right conditions. I would not be surprised if I have 7 of them showing their leaves by tomorrow. Yep, spring is here and humming along nicely, even in spite of a late season Nebraska snowstorm :)
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