Gardening novices often are a little fearful about starting
flowers or vegetables by seed. After all, a visit to the local
nursery or big box store will overwhelm you with already-started
bedding plants and vegetable varieties that are seemingly just
waiting for you to plop them in the ground to get growing.
Gardening novices often are a little fearful about starting flowers or vegetables by seed. After all, a visit to the local nursery or big box store will overwhelm you with already-started bedding plants and vegetable varieties that are seemingly just waiting for you to plop them in the ground to get growing.
But novice home gardeners should not be apprehensive about planting by seed. Planting a seed brings out nurturing instincts. As the seed germinates and grows, it’s impossible not to become attached to the plant. When that flower blooms or you bite into that first fruit, a wonderful sense of accomplishment occurs.
Of course, planting by seed offers other benefits as well. One, buying seed instead of transplants is much cheaper. Two, you have a choice of a much larger array of varieties when planting by seed. The downside of planting by seed I that you need to nurture the little guys, protecting them against snails when they’re very young, and then being very careful when transplanting.
You can start seed right now outdoors. I prefer starting seeds in empty plastic flats or containers from the nursery. It’s always easier controlling the water and pests by starting seed in easily movable containers. Some flats I leave on top of my patio table where no snail can get to them! Once plants are a few inches high with at least two sets of true leaves, they can be transplanted in the ground. This is also a critical time to protect young seedlings from snails. Keep the snail bait handy, or plan nightly excursions into the garden to hand pick the critters.
I always start with sterile soil, such as a commercial potting mix available at nurseries.
One of the great banes of seed growing is a fungus commonly known as Damping-Off Disease. The spores are ever present in soil and the conditions of indoor gardening seem particularly advantageous to its propagation. Sterilized soil will avoid this scourge.
As for water, you’ll want to keep the medium moist, but not always wet or soggy. For seedlings, it’s sometimes best to water from below, allowing the medium to soak up the water like a sponge. To promote germination, you can make yourself a mini-greenhouse, of sorts, by covering flats or pots with plastic wrap.
Some four to six weeks after seeding, when plants have at least two sets of true leaves, it’s usually time to transplant. Easy flowers to start from seed include marigolds, zinnias, sunflowers and any of a variety of daisies. Vegetables include tomatoes, squash, peppers and corn, to name a few.
