I saw the 2025 Grow This: West Virginia Garden Challenge in winter and signed up for it before we moved (Since I had the local address to use!).
I love free seeds, the challenge of growing, and the chance to show off (I am pretty competitive with gardening). Mary’s Heirloom Seeds provided the seeds this year.
I received my seeds in the mail, even though I signed up to pick them up in person at the local library. They had a few issues with the distribution this year. Nothing huge, but some participants never received their cards in the mail (I didn’t and was about to pick them up in person when I found them in my mailbox). But there were no issues; I had my seeds in hand, so it was time to plant.
So what is it?
The Throwdown is a statewide competition that aims to get West Virginians to move more, grow their own food, and crush hunger in our state. Participants complete challenges to earn points for their counties. Some challenges are simple, like donating vegetables to a food pantry. Others are more involved, like organizing a seed library or building a Grow This-themed float for a local parade. The competition is supported by grant funds for these types of educational programs.
This is something that hits me deep in my love of growing food. Sharing knowledge and helping others become more self-sufficient builds resilient communities. When people have a skill set, they become more confident in life.
It has been freezing the past few days (it got down to 27 one night), so I used my pop-greenhouse to start the seeds.
I planted about half the Mesclun Lettuce seed in 4″ pots.
The Chives I did two pots worth (plenty of chives!)
The Pickling Cucumbers had fewer seeds, so I started all the seeds.
I’ll have enough seed for the lettuce for a late summer start to have early fall lettuce.
I will transplant them into my container garden once they have sprouted. But for now, they will stay warmer in the shelter and exposed to natural light. As I mentioned, I gave up most artificial lighting years ago, as I have long felt that plants are stronger when grown under natural light (the sun).
So here is to a successful sprouting – and updates as the growing season continues.
~Sarah