The nights are still a little cool but if you’re anxious to get your garden going, why not start it indoors?
It’s a great way to save money and get a head start on your garden, especially with some vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants and peppers; which require a long growing season.
Starting seeds properly can make or break your entire growing season, plus starting seeds indoors can result in a more productive harvest season.
Here is what you should know before you get started to help you do it correctly!
Choose Your Plants and Buy the Seeds
Seeds are less expensive than plants, so you’ll save money, but the package may contain more seeds than you need. In that case, save some for next year. Or, plant them all and swap seedlings with friends when it’s time to transplant them outdoors.
Fresher, higher quality seeds will have a higher germination rate (meaning more will sprout), and will give you a head-start in growing delicious, nutritious vegetables.
Reusing containers that you bought flowers in last year also works great, but clean them first to kill any bacteria or disease that can harm seedlings. Mix one part bleach with nine parts water, and dip the container into the solution. Then dunk or rinse the container with water.
You can also buy peat moss containers that can go in the outdoor garden when it’s time to transplant.
Pot with seed-starting mix. These mixes don’t contain any actual soil, but they provide ideal conditions for sprouting seeds. Most importantly, they provide a good balance of drainage and water-holding capacity, and they minimize problems with disease on vulnerable seedlings. If possible, don’t use garden soil to start seeds indoors; it generally doesn’t drain well and may contain plant disease spores.
You can start seeds in a basement corner or even in front of a large window that lets in lots of sun for warmth. On top of the refrigerator or near a radiator are usually good spots. If the window is drafty, though, pick another spot—seeds and bulbs do best in warm soil. When the seedlings are visible, you can move them to a bright location under artificial lights. Or, better yet, a spot that receives sunlight as well as artificial light.
Most seed packages tell you what time of the year to plant them based on your region or the average last spring frost. If you’re not sure, ask a local gardener.
Plant seeds at the proper depth. Check the seed packet for planting depth. You don’t need to measure precisely, but be careful not to plant any deeper than the directions suggest. The rule of thumb is to plant the seed two-to-three times as deep as the seed is wide. For example, tiny seeds should be barely covered by soil mix, while large seeds like beans should be sown about an inch deep. If you sow seeds too deeply, they won’t have enough stored energy to make it to the surface. Plant extra seeds, because it’s likely not all of them will germinate; you’ll thin out the extra ones later.
It is possible to start too soon—if plants grow too large indoors, they get stressed when they’re transplanted. But if you start too late, the seedlings don’t mature enough indoors.
Likewise, once your plants are growing, don’t transplant them outside too early. If you move them outside too early and get a frost or the soil is too cold, all of that work you did is lost because the soil isn’t warm enough.
Check the soil moisture daily. You want the soil about the consistency of a sponge that’s been wrung out. Sticking your finger into the soil is a quick way to tell if it’s getting enough water. It should be moist all the way through so that roots will go downward. Covering the container with damp newspaper or plastic holds in warmth and moisture, but remove the cover once the plants break through the soil.
Even plants that receive natural sunlight benefit from cool and warm fluorescent lights.
Place artificial lights six inches over the plants.
Hardcore gardeners place aluminum foil or whiteboard on the surfaces around containers to reflect light. This lets you maximize the light by reflecting it back toward the seedlings.
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