Starting seeds indoors

by Helen Scott
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 2:08 PM MDT

Four things are necessary for starting seeds indoors: a sunny window, clean containers, seeds and a growing medium. Patience and perseverance also can be helpful during the early seedling stages.

Remember the seed-starting season usually runs, more or less, from Feb. 14, St. Valentine’s Day, through St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. Annual and vegetable seeds can be placed in the refrigerator for a couple of days before being planted.

New seedlings ideally should have 12-16 hours of light per day, and that usually means artificial lighting of some kind.

The artificial growing lamps should be placed a distance of 6-12 inches from the plants. (The plants will receive twice as much light at 6 inches as at 12 inches.}

Buying peat pots at your garden center is an easy way to accomplish the task of starting your own seeds; however, you can use egg cartons, trays, cut-off milk cartons or even eggshells, as long as they have the proper drainage.

Gardeners can use a sterile growing mixture that’s available at all garden centers. These mixtures usually have enough fertilizer incorporated within them for the first few weeks of plant growth.

Later on, one can add water-soluble fertilizer at rates of one tablespoon per gallon of water, applying once a week or less.

You can, if you prefer, sterilize and use your own soil by combining one part of garden soil, one part shredded peat and one part of either vermiculite, perlite or sand.

This mixture should then be heated to 180 degrees Fahrenheit for 60 minutes. Another excellent recipe includes four quarts of shredded peat moss, 2 teaspoons of ground limestone and 4 tablespoons of 5-10-5 fertilizer.

The temperature of your growing medium is important for optimum growing conditions and can vary from 65-95 degrees for different plants. For example, the optimum temperature for melon plants is 85-95 degrees and for lettuce it is 60-75 degrees.

Drag out your thermometer and check the soil temperature. Heat pads can be used for maintaining temperatures and also for rapid germination.

After planting, your seeds should be kept evenly moist, but not overly wet. Too much moisture and too cool temperatures will cause the seeds to rot.

The first two leaves that form on the plant are not true leaves, but food storage cells called “cotyledons.” Once the first true leaves have developed, it is safe to start fertilizing as mentioned above.

Soon, the plants will need to be “hardened off” in preparation for planting in the garden. Hardening off is the process used when tender plants are set outdoors for limited periods in a protected place for exposure to the outdoor climate.

Get busy, spring is coming, and good luck.

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