Planting Seeds 101

Planting your own seeds and starting them inside can be a really fun thing to do and it can be a great way to save money as well as try out lots of new varieties of plants without having to spend a lot or just choosing from what the local store has available. Planting your seeds will also give you a lot more insight into your garden and to what your plants need as well as giving you more time to grow your plants without having to worry about whether it’s too hot or cold outside.

What You Need

What’s really great is that you don’t have to invest a lot or buy a bunch of fancy supplies to get your garden started with seeds. In fact it’s even less expensive than it would be to buy young plants to fill your garden with. The first thing you’ll need to be sure of is that you have a sunny window that your plants can sit near - preferably one that faces south.   You’ll also need a bag of potting soil hat is very loose and light. You don’ want anything dense or heavy because this can make it more difficult for your seeds to sprout. There are specially made bags that are designed for sprouting and seed germination but you can use whatever you want as long as it has a good blend of soil and moss. You’re also going to need some popsicle sticks, a pen or pencil (a waterproof one is best here), some plastic bags or plastic wrap, and some little pea pots or other small containers. For containers you can also use small plastic cups, cut off milk cartons, or even egg containers. Watch out with the egg containers though as your little sprout can get cramped which means more watering and higher maintenance for you.

Personally when it comes to containers I like to use milk cartons or smaller reusable plastic containers like the ones you might find butter or cream cheese in because they allow enough room for plants to grow up until they’re ready to be placed in the garden and it’s a much better method than constantly transplanting your plant to a bigger pot which can damage the root system - especially for certain vegetables and vining crops that don’t do well with their roots being disturbed. Make sure that your containers aren’t too small as you don’t want to crowd your plants too much and if you’re using large trays or separate individual containers it’s wise to label what each container holds because milk cartons all look pretty similar and you can easily get them mixed up. Label each container with the specific plant and variety as well as the date you planted it (unless you planted all your seeds at the same time) and make sure that you have room for all your containers in front of your sunny window.

What To Expect

You can expect your seeds to be indoors for at least a month and a half - possibly longer than that. It really depends on the weather in your area and the final frost date because that determines how soon you can get your seeds into the ground without them being at risk for diseases and fungus or insect problems. Pay close attention to the weather in your area and just be aware of when it’s a good time to put your plants out in your garden - don’t base this off of how long you’ve had your plants germinating in your house. If your plants need to stay in a bit longer because of some freak weather conditions then that’s fine - just continue on taking care of them and transfer them to bigger containers if needed. All it means is that you’ll just keep your plants inside a bit longer and that they’ll have a more developed root system when you do transfer them out. This can also lengthen the amount of time your plants flower or produce crops - the only issue is that sometimes it can mean a room of your house gets taken over by baby plants. This is also a great way to start plants that you might want to keep indoors like some herbs or small flower boxes and that type of thing.

First Things First

Before you begin planting or anything you need to prepare your potting mix by getting it wet before you separate it out into your containers. You don’t want your soil dripping wet - just moist is all. After you’ve done that you can go ahead and add the soil to the individual containers and level it off to make it even. Now if you’re using a large tray of cells then you only want to do one or two seeds to a cell because you don’t want to crowd your plants and you can always thin them out later. If your using a larger container you can do three or four and thin them out or transplant them to larger containers as you want. It’s best to transplant your plants as few times as possible but it can be done with success. You also want to make sure your seeds are about midway into their little container it and roughly in the center of it. Fill your containers about halfway with your potting soil and press your seeds gently into them but not pushing them down to the bottom. Then you’ll want to pour some more soil on top of them to fill up your container. If you’re unsure about how far down to plant your seeds then refer to the package that your seeds came in or to local gardeners in your area that can help you out. If you’re using a big flat to plant your seeds in then you can use the popsicle sticks to write on what plant and variety it is that you planted and the date that you put them in so that you can refer to it when you move everything over to your garden.

Now that your seeds are all planted you can cover your containers either with plastic wrap or wrap them entirely in a large bag until the seeds sprout - just make sure that your wrapping doesn’t touch the surface of the soil and don’t water the seeds again until the seedlings break through the surface. At that point you can take the plastic wrap off and but until then you want to keep your containers somewhere that they’ll stay evenly warm but won’t be exposed to too much sunlight because this can dry them out and if too much moisture is trapped under the plastic the seeds can rot.

Typically your seedlings will come up within about a week or two but if they don’t head up right away then don’t worry - it may just be that they need some more warmth or something along those lines. If they don’t sprout at all then don’t freak out just replant your container and try again. Not everything works perfectly the first time - that would take all the fun out of it. The key here is just keeping the temperature even which may mean shifting your plants throughout the day or getting a heating mat to keep them warm during cold nights.

Once Your Plants Have Arrived

When your new baby plants are showing up you need to check on them daily at first to see how fast their growing and how quickly they’re drying out. If the soil doesn’t feel moist when you touch it then water the plant and always use water that’s at room temperature because you can damage your little seedlings with very cold water. You can use a mister or a slow drip system to water your plants or you can simply set the whole tray in a flat container filled with a bit of water and let the water soak its way up into the soil. Once the top of the soil is moist you can remove the seedlings from the water. After a month or so of watering the seedlings and letting them develop you can give them a bit of fertilizer to help them grow but only a little. You don’t want your plants growing massively at this point just staying healthy is all.

After your plants have been growing for a few months they’ll be ready to start their transition into your garden. This process involves you taking your plants outside for a few hours each day so that they are exposed the sun and natural conditions and letting them get used to being out of doors. As you do this you’ll slowly increase the time that you’re leaving your plants out of doors and after a couple weeks you’ll be able to leave them out all day and night as long as the temperatures stay alright. If you don’t take the time to get your plants adapted to being outside you’ll shock them by taking them right to the garden and they’ll probably struggle to adapt if they don’t die.

Planting Your Seedlings

Once you’ve taken the time to harden your plants with some time outside then it will be time to send them over to your garden for their permanent home. It’s best to make sure that your plants are well watered before you plant them as this can reduce the chance of them going into shock and you also want to plant them in the afternoon or late evening to prevent them from drying out in their new homes. After you plant your young plants be sure to water well around them so that soil can settle around their roots and take extra care to disturb the root system as little as possible. It’s also a good idea to put some basic defenses against insects around your young plants to prevent them from getting eaten early on. Keep careful watch on the for the first few days and make sure they stay moist so that they can settle in to their new home. Once your plants are settled you can begin to treat them like you would a normal plant with regular watering schedules and using a bit more fertilizer.

You’re finished!

See now that wasn’t so hard was it? Starting your plants from seed is quite simple and it can be well worth the upfront effort to have a great variety of plants that you’ve started indoors as well as the extra time of being able to grow your plants and the possibility of more produce! Just follow these steps and be patient and before you know it you’ll be a pro when it comes to starting your own plants from seeds.