I finally got around to creating a new masthead that more accurately reflects what this blog is about.  Left to right:  our seed-starting system, a fresh loaf of bread, our sprouted brussels sprouts seeds, our very sophisticated plastic bag-drying system, and my trusty Schwinn.

I used to ride a $900 Rocky Mountain and was constantly filled with anxiety about it — will it get stolen?  Am I ruining the components with road salt?  (Answer: yes)  Finally last summer after much consideration and a little heartbreak I sold it and bought myself a $140 1980 road bike and haven’t looked back.  I love it!  It helps that Adam tricked it out with some nice new white handlebar tape.

Now about that seed-starting system.  I had to include a picture of it since it is so gloriously cheap.  We looked at Midwest Brew & Grow and some other places and were considering an expensive system, but Ye Olde Recession forced us to figure out the cheapest possible system we could do.  It consists of:

• An old fluorescent lamp from our garage, fitted with two plant/aquarium bulbs.  We still had an old one from our old lizard aquarium, and the new one was $8.
• A Burpee Ultimate Seed Starting Kit, $20.
• A couple of clamps from the garage
• An old piece from some old Ikea thing that was laying in the garage, to raise up the height of the lamp
• The top of our refrigerator provides a nice warm environment and its handy location ensures I won’t forget to water

So there you have it, the entire system was $28, not including seeds.  They were around $2.75 a packet, and I got Seed Savers Exchange ones from our local CO-OP.