[AG-EQ] How to Successfully Start Seeds Indoors

Wed Apr 1 16:53:30 UTC 2020

This is a wonderful article! Wow, thank you! I'm strying to figure out how we can start this even though we just live in a little townhouse.

Michelle

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From: AG-EQ [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of dogwood farm via AG-EQ
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2020 9:44 AM
To: Agricultural and Equestrean Division List
Cc: dogwood farm
Subject: [AG-EQ] How to Successfully Start Seeds Indoors

How to Successfully Start Seeds Indoors
Written by Kerry Michaels

Starting seeds indoors can be frustrating, exhilarating, or sometimes
a little of both. You can improve your success rate dramatically if
you focus on what seeds need to germinate and what seedlings need to
grow strong. It's not as easy as setting a pot in a window and keeping
it wet, but you don't need to buy a fancy greenhouse to make them grow
either. Some lights, some shelves, some sterile pots and mix, a little
diluted fertilizer, and a fan are the core of the indoor garden, and
following the directions on the seed packet will help too.

Let There Be Light
For seedlings to grow properly, they need light. Lots of it. Even if
you have a south-facing window, chances are that you don't have enough
natural light to grow healthy, robust seedlings. If seedlings don't
get enough light, they will be spindly and won't make it to adulthood.
Setting up an artificial light system isn't tough and doesn't have to
be expensive.

You want full-spectrum bulbs in lights that you can attach to shelving
above your seed flats or trays of pots. Cooler lights, such as
fluorescents, can be closer to your seedlings (2 to 6 inches) than
incandescents, which will dry them out. A power strip with a timer can
keep the lights on your plants for 12 to 16 hours per day, error-free.

Use Self-Watering Seed Starting Systems
Never start a seed in a small peat pot. They just dry out too fast.
Self-watering seed-starting systems are increasingly available on the
market, but you also can make a self-watering seed starter from a
plastic supermarket pie plate (one with a clear top), a container to
serve as a reservoir, and some string. Poke a few holes through the
pie plate and attach the strings. The strings wick water up from the
reservoir to keep the planting medium moist but not wet enough to rot
the seeds. While you're waiting for germination, the clear cover will
keep the environment humid.

Use a Sterile Seed-Starting Medium
Just because seeds grow fine in the ground outdoors doesn't mean that
you can grow indoor seeds in garden soil. Bad idea. Young seedlings
are susceptible to a dreaded fungus that causes what's called “damping
off.” You know you have it when all your seedlings are fine one minute
and the next they have all keeled over. With all the time starting
seeds requires, it makes sense to give them the best chance for
survival by using a sterile planting mix, which doesn't have soil in
it but is mostly sphagnum peat moss.

Sterilize Your Pots
It makes no sense to put the sterile mix into dirty pots—especially if
any of your seedlings have succumbed to damping off in the past. Scrub
off any old dirt or debris in warm water, then submerge the pots in a
mild bleach solution (1 part bleach: 9 parts water) for at least 10
minutes to kill any fungus, bacteria, or parasites. After rinsing, you
can air-dry them or keep them soaking in clean water until you're
ready to use them.

Feed Your Seedlings
Most sterile planting mixes don't have any built-in nutrients. During
germination, seedlings get all the nutrition they need from the seed
itself, but after you start seeing true leaves (which come after the
ground-breaking variety), you’ll want to feed your seedlings with a
diluted solution of liquid fertilizer.

Ventilation and Wind
Seeds are really meant to be planted outside in the sun, rain, and
wind. By planting indoors you are attempting to fool Mother Nature.
Many of us even plant our seeds in our basements, the part of the
house that is probably least like the natural world, with air that
doesn’t move at all.

Moving air, though, is an important factor in helping seedlings to
develop a robust root system and strong stems. To approximate wind,
set a fan on low near your seedlings. You don't have to subject them
to the equivalent of a 24-hour tornado for their size, but having them
move around as they grow creates sturdier plants. If you have the fan
on the same timer as your lights, you won't even have to think about
it.

Read the Seed Packet
Most seed packets have a wealth of information, including whether you
should even start those particular plants indoors—some plants just
flat out don't like to be transplanted and are better off started in
the garden in which they will live. The packet will also tell you how
deep to plant your seeds—a critical piece of information. It will list
how long it should take for the seed to germinate and whether you need
to scarify them (nick or rub with sandpaper) to increase their chances
of germination. The packet will say how many weeks before your last
frost date you should start the seeds and when to transplant.

Keep the seed packet for the life of the plants. Chances are there
will be information that you will need at some point (particularly if
you've thrown the packet away), and you can always use it as a row
marker in the garden for your seedlings until they graduate to become
thriving flowers, herbs, or vegetables.

Track your successes and issues in a journal, and next winter, look at
those seed packets and get the calendar ready all over again.

Susan
dogwoodfarm62 at gmail.com

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