first sowing

Today is cold outside, with ice and snow predicted all through the coming week. Yeah, my little row cover will probably collapse but the mini greenhouse roof sheds snow just fine. My tender prennials still have heaps of leaf litter over them from the last snowfall so no worries there. 

Indoors, I started the garden with my first seed sowing of the year: lettuces, augula, collards, leeks, tatsoi, kale, sweet alyssum, dill, parsley and cilantro.

Here's my list (labels I made for the trays, w/some of my own made-up abbreviations)

I'm hoping I can get the alyssum to grow- really looking forward to having that across my front decorative bed and maybe in a few planters. At the nurseries I've only ever seen white sweet alyssum plants, so I was pretty happy to get some seed for rose color, purple, and a mix. It might be tricky, though- the seeds are so tiny they come in a glassine envelope inside a little ziplock inside the regular packet:

Miniscule:

Also requiring some particular treatment: the seed needs light to germinate so I press them onto the starter mix surface instead of covering them, and place on my plant table by the window instead of atop the fridge with the others. Also, supposed to water from below in a tray (let soak up water for fifteen mintues, then tip the excess out) instead of misting. Following the directions and crossing my fingers!