Seed Starting Basics – How To Grow Thriving Seedlings!
Starting seedlings indoors is a great way to get back into gardening early and get a jump start on your gardening season, but it can be super frustrating! If you’re not convinced that starting seed early is for you, check out my article on why starting seed early indoors is a must here! To ensure you have a frustration free seed starting experience there are a few things that you’ll need to know…
Soil Medium Matters: What you use to plant your seedlings in matters! Depending on the type of gardening you wish to do you may want to get your seeds started with an organic product so your process is organic from start to finish. Your seed starting medium needs to be made for seed starting because this means that it is sterile – seedlings are tender and very susceptible to viruses, mold, bacteria, fungus and other things living in your soil and an indoor environment is often the perfect place for those things to thrive!
Coconut Coir: coconut coir has been gaining popularity amongst gardeners because seedlings and plants seem to love it and it is environmentally friendly! Coconut coir also allows great air flow while retaining a high moisture concentration which is great if you are someone who forgets to water!
Sterile Seed Starting Soil: As I mentioned before any soil used for seed starting should be sterile to prevent any early disease issues and seedlings that just don’t make it. Try to choose a product that states it is a sterile seed starting mix.
Let there Be Light! Your seedlings need light to grow big and strong and as a seed parent its your duty to set them up for success, this means placing them in the sunniest part of your home!
Let there Be MORE Light! If you do not have a sunny spot consider purchasing some small grow lights. For my first few years of growing I started my seedlings on a radiator by a sunny window under a small grow light. You can find grow lights at your local hardware store, home depot or Lowes for relatively cheap. I have had perfectly good success with a standard LED shop light although you can go for more expensive options which might perform better.
How to know if you need more light:? You will know it right away, your seedlings will be stringy and flop over, a term called “leggy” as they put all their effort into reaching for the sun – not a cute look which is sometimes fixable but may mean you have to start over.
Mimic the Sun: You can get fancy with your lighting to promote seed growth in different ways, and different plants may have different lighting requirements. However, if were talking about plants that will land themselves in your garden, I often keep it simple and mimic the hours of the sun, after all this is the light exposure pattern that your plants will need to be adjusted to once you bring them outdoors. To make it even more simple, you can invest in a small light timer, set it and forget it!
Rotate your Trays: If you have planted near a window, it’s a good idea to rotate your plants every few days to make sure all of the seedlings get even light and that the stem of your plants grow nice and straight -rather then bent over towards one side.
Choosing the Pot: No, I am not talking about the funny green kind, I’m talking about what you will be placing your seeds into silly! Each type of pot has its benefits and draw backs depending on what your time and budget can bare, luckily this part doesn’t have to be too fancy!
Toilet paper/Paper Towel Roll: You can reuse these little cardboard cylinders to make seedling starter pots and save yourself a lot of money on fancy trays or biodegradable pots. The only draw back is that the pots can sometimes fall apart if they get too wet which can make for a messy job of manually thinning seedlings.
Soil Blocking: Soil blocking requires the use of a soil blocking tool and may be a great option for ecofriendly and low budget growers. A good soil blocking tool will last virtually forever and it means no pot required. Some additional advantages of this are that the seedlings develop stronger root systems, and the roots get more oxygen flow. The downside is that you may have to create a soil blocking recipe or find one online to ensure your soil holds its shape from start to when its plopped into your garden bed!
Seed Trays: Seed trays are great for organizing and keeping things neat, I also like that they come with a bottom tray for watering – which well get into later. The down side to these can be that sometimes the seedlings can get root bound if you are not careful to mind when they need to be transplanted, the trays can be expensive and they’re generally made out of plastic that doesn’t hold up very well from year to year.
Whatever You Have: If this is your first year seed starting, try it out with whatever you have, no need to break the bank! Just make sure any pots you use are have a bottom hole or permeability for water drainage, are clean and sterilized (wash with antimicrobial soap, spray with rubbing alcohol or boil it), you don’t want any nasty residues to set up shop in your nice sterile baby seedling soil.
Air Flow is Key! Proper air flow is important for seedlings to prevent moisture build up and resulting disease or seedling death. You can achieve this with a simple small fan or by opening a window (as long as its not too cold!).
Set a Date: Typically seeds should be planted indoors about six weeks before the last frost of the spring. You can find out your anticipated last frost date by entering your zip code here.
What if you’re already within the six week window? Don’t worry, any time that you can add to your growing season is good, starting seed indoors two weeks before the last anticipated frost will simply give you two weeks more of grow time.
If you’re already past your last frost – plant your seedlings outside and start planning for your fall crop! Start fall crop seedlings inside about 6 weeks before spring crop harvest! After your spring harvest, you can plant your fall seedlings right away and viola you’ve just added 6 weeks to your season!
Follow the Packet Instructions and don’t be afraid to experiment! Each seed will have specific instructions on how it should be planted, try to stick to seeds that indicate they can be started indoors but don’t be afraid to experiment – I have had success starting beets, potatoes, squash, zucchini and even carrots indoors. Some of these crops just need a different size pot to start and some need a little extra finesse to avoid breaking them during transplant.
Water From Below: Seedlings are very tender and susceptible to moisture/rot overhead watering can increase the risk of “damping off” a phenomenon that can occur when too much moisture exists around the seedling, it simply flops and dies. A great way to decrease this risk is by watering below – I have achieved this in the past by placing seedlings on a plate or serving tray and filling the tray with water – the soil will wick up the water and deliver the water to your seedlings as needed. If you’d like something a little more fancy, you can purchase a watering tray from a garden center, place your plants in it and just make sure it has a bit of water in it at all times – the plants will self-water as long as there is some water to be had!
Is this your first time starting seeds yourself? Let me know below and leave your questions! If you and expert – share your hacks below!!