Start Planting Flowers, Sunflowers, and Watermelon

Today I decided it was time for getting some plants ready for the spring.  This would include alyssum, dill, and queen annes lace.  I grow these particular plants early mainly for attracting beneficial insects such as lady beetles, parasitic wasps, and even honey bees.

I also like to get a head start with watermelons and sunflowers.  Watermelons take a very long time to mature and produce fruit.  Some can take as long as 110 days.  Since I live in a temperate climate I always  like to get right into growing this fruit as soon as possible.  By the time they are ready to be planted into the garden it should be warm enough for them to flourish

Sunflowers I like to get a head start on is because this is one of the first things I need to begin flowering.  The flowers of mammoth sunflowers are perfect for attracting pollinating bees.  Whether it be honeybees or native bees these plants can attract all kinds of pollinators.  This is the main reason for getting them a head start as well.

I always plant my flowers such as dill, alyssum, and queen annes lace into large plastic containers.  These containers were once used for spinach which I rinsed out and recycled them for my gardening needs.  They come in handy and are a great way to save and maximize space.  Here is a picture of them:

When it comes to growing watermelons I love using peat pots because this makes it very easy to transplant them into the garden.  Since they have very sensitive roots it will make the transition for them go much smoother.

Sunflowers are pretty straightforward and simple to grow.  You can use pretty much any type of container and in this case I decided to use the same size containers I used for planting spinach.  Here is a snapshot I took of them: