Spring Seed thoughts

Oops! Flu knocked me out for a few days. This post was supposed to go up last weekend. :-D Enjoy, I'll just tack an update on the end and call it good for this one.
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Yup! It's that time of year. (Finally!) Time for seed starting up here in zone 4. Only certain seeds though. I started brassicas, some onions and herbs. All with my little helper, and using the new "Mini-Greenhouse" sent to me by my loving grandparents.

So far, I have to say I'm loving the mini greenhouse. I don't have "mini" lights, I have the full sized fluorescent "plant" bulbs in standard 48" housings. So, I improvised a little bit, and I'm hoping that the sunny south window will help make up for the improvisation.
My trusty little warmer mat made it through yet another move and summer storage. I worry every year about that mat, because I've heard from other seed savers that they have a high failure rate. I've never had a problem with mine. *knocks on wood*
Right now, I'm only running the lights/warmer mat 4 hours a day, from 4pm till 8 to supplement the warmth and light from the sunny window. Once sufficient quantities of seedlings appear I'll probably turn off the mat as the seedlings won't need the extra heat. Then, in another month or so when I start my warm weather crops I'll plug the mat back in and put it under that seed tray.
I'm starting veggies: green cabbage, red cabbage, bok choi, broccoli, artichoke and broccoli raab.
And I'm starting some herbs; Mint, basil, thai basil, green sage, catnip and thyme.

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So, it's been almost a week since I planted those seeds. A lot of them have sprouted. All of the veggies, plus Basil, Thai Basil, Thyme and Green sage are up. :-D

Some of these seeds were old, so it's nice to see them still sprout.

More posts soon, after I recover a bit from this flu. Hope all your seeds are sprouting!