Seed Starting, Made Easy
5. Cover seed trays with plastic top of seed starting tray and set somewhere warm (like on top of a radiator or water heater) to encourage germination. At this point the seeds do not need light, just warmth from the bottom.
6. As soon as the seedlings pop out of the medium remove the cover and place the tray under your light source (under your grow lights or in your sunny window)
7. Always water seedlings from the bottom by filling the reservoir to 1/4-1/2" full and check 2-3 times a week to see if they need more water.
8. As the seedlings mature you can thin them out to keep only the strongest seedlings.
9. About 1 month before planting time start acclimatizing your seedlings to the outside conditions starting by leaving them out for 1-2 hours a day and them progressing slowly to leaving them out all day. A day or so before you plant they should be moved to where you are going to plant them and left out all day.
10. Transplant into the garden on a cloudy day after all danger of frost is past.
That's it. Seems simple enough- though it does take a little bit more time but the rewards are well worth the effort.
Be sure to check back for a more in depth discussion of seed starting and seed starting problems in the months to come.
Below find a list of resources to help you find supplies and more information:
For supplies:
- Gardeners Supply Company
http://www.seedsofchange.com/ - Seeds of Change
For information:
http://www.suite101.com/files/topics/172...
CoExtOff.html - partial list of county extension offices around the country
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/18505
Plant Propagation and Seed Starting topic at Suite 101
- with really excellent in-depth discussions of seed starting propagation techniques by Kenneth Joergensen
Go To Page: 1 2
Articles in this Topic Discussions in this Topic
Latest Articles