Starting Seeds Indoors
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Save 50% On Spring Planted Perennials On Our Advance Sale Now At American Meadows! Click Here!  Growing from seed not only gives you a much larger selection of vegetables and flowers to choose from – including unusual varieties you’re unlikely to find at a garden center – it also lets you get a jump on the growing season by starting many plants indoors. Generally speaking, annual flowers and vegetables are the easiest to grow, and their seeds germinate quickly.Winter is a fun time of year for gardeners. We get to browse seed catalogs and web sites and dream of bountiful gardens with never a thought for inconvenient truths like digging or weeding. But before you actually start buying seeds, take time out for a reality check – especially if you are a new gardener. Do you know how much sun your garden will receive through the growing season? Most vegetables and many ornamental flowering plants need at least six hours of full sun daily. Now consider the growing requirements of those seeds you’re contemplating – just how big is your garden, and how much room will those seeds require when they grow into mature plants? Keeping these realities in mind as you decide which seed varieties to buy will help ensure a successful harvest later. Growing from seed not only gives you a much larger selection of vegetables and flowers to choose from – including unusual varieties you’re unlikely to find at a garden center – it also lets you get a jump on the growing season by starting many plants indoors. Generally speaking, annual flowers and vegetables are the easiest to grand  Start by separating all your packets of seed into two piles: those that will be "direct-sown" (planted right in the garden) and those that will be started indoors. The outdoors pile will include most vegetables, such as peas, beans, corn, radishes, carrots, beets, lettuce, spinach, melons, cucumbers, and squash. Put a rubber band around whatever seeds you'll be planting outdoors and set them aside.
Most annual flowers will also go into the direct-sow pile: zinnias, asters, lavatera, nasturtiums, sunflowers, bachelor's buttons, nigella and calendula. If your growing season is very short or your garden conditions are especially difficult, you may decide to put some of these annual flowers into your "sow indoors" pile. Most perennial flowers will need to be started indoors. Now spread out your "sow indoors" pile and start reading the back of the seed packets. Unfortunately, you'll probably find that planting instructions are pretty vague. Home gardeners would have a much easier time if seed companies would provide us with the information we need. At the very least, you should find something like, "For earliest bloom or fruit production, start 6 to 8 weeks before last frost date." Sort your packets into piles according to these recommendations, making separate piles for 5, 7, 9 weeks, and so on. Some packets, especially those for perennials, may only tell you how long it takes the seeds to germinate. If that's all you have to go on, take that figure (which is usually a range) and add 6 weeks. Then put the packet into the appropriate pile. Start earlier: Seeds take longer to germinate and plants grow more slowly when air and soil temperatures are cool (below 70 degrees F). If you plan to start your seeds in a cool basement or cool bedroom, you may want to shift your whole schedule a week or two earlier. Start later: If you grow your seedlings in a greenhouse or a very warm room, you should cut a week or more out of your schedule. Heat promotes rapid growth, and you could find yourself with giant plants that are ready for the garden before warm weather arrives. I hope you find this information helpful rather than intimidating! I find making up a schedule ahead of time makes it easy to figure out what you should be planting each week. When you start transplanting into the garden, write a few notes on your schedule so you can make adjustments next season. Remember that every year will be a little different and you'll never get it exactly right. Dates by Zone •Zone 1: June1 - June 30 •Zone 2: May 1 - May 31 •Zone 3: May 1 - May31 •Zone 4: May 1 - May31 •Zone 5: March 30 - April30 •Zone 6: March 30 - April30 •Zone 7: March 30 - April30 •Zone 8: February 28 - March 30 •Zone 9: January 30 - February 28 •Zone 10: January 1 - January 31 •Zone 11 Frost Free Year Round Now, before you get all crazy with the soil and the seeding, take a minute to figure out how many containers you’ll sow with each variety, and then make up labels for each. You don’t want to have to do this halfway through with your hands all dirty, or worse, after you’ve finished sowing and can only guess at whether a particular container holds peppers or tomato seeds
xxx You can start seeds in almost any kind of container that will hold 1 to 2 inches of soil. Once seedlings form more roots and develop their true leavesthey grow best in containers that provide more space for root growth and have holes for drainage.You can start seedlings in open flats, in individual sections or in pots. Individual containers are preferable, because the less you disturb tender roots, the better. Some containers, such as peat pots, paper pots, and soil blocks, go right into the garden with the plant during transplanting. Other pots must be slipped off the root ball before planting. Square or rectangular containers make better use of space and provide more root area than round ones do.Individual containers dry out faster than open flats. Many gardeners start seeds in open flats and transplant seedlings to individual containers after the first true leaves unfold. Seeds contain enough nutrients to nourish themselves through sprouting, so a seed-starting mix does not have to contain nutrients. It should be free of weed seeds and toxic substances, hold moisture well, and provide plenty of air spaces. Don’t use plain garden soil to start seedlings. Some gardeners prefer to plant seeds directly in potting mix and eliminate transplanting. Planting in large individual pots is ideal for plants such as squash and melons that won’t grow well if their roots are disturbed. Moisten the planting mix before you fill your containers, especially if it contains peat moss. Use warm water, and allow the mix time to absorb it. When you squeeze a handful of mix it should hold together and feel moist, but it shouldn’t drip. Cover the seeds to a depth of three times their thickness by carefully sprinkling them with light, dry potting soil . Don’t cover seeds that need light to germinate (check the seed packet for special germination requirements). Instead, gently pat the surface of the mix so the seeds and mix have good contact. Write a label for each kind of seed you plant and put it in the flat or pot as soon as the seeds are planted, before any mix-ups occur. Spray gently with spray bottle. |
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