Starting Vegetable Plants Indoors from Seed

How to Start Your Vegetable Plants Indoors

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Supplies you will need:

-     Seed.  Make sure you start with a good-quality seed.  If you have a favorite tomato and saved the seeds from that, they would be perfect. Fresher seeds have a better germination rate than seeds lying around in a cupboard for years.

High-quality seed starting or soilless mix: This mix is formulated to have great drainage and water-holding capability and minimize the onset of disease or soil-borne fungus.  There is no soil in this mix at all.  It contains mostly peat moss, pearlite, vermiculite, minor nutrients, and wetting agents. 

Either of these potting mixes work very well. I have used both. Click on the image to see the details.

Containers   Use containers that have drainage holes.  Old pots from previous years work great, and egg cartons that you pop a drainage hole into the bottom of each holder also work great.  If you want to purchase a seedling starter kit, this one below includes lights and vents, so it is a great start. Lights are required once the seeds have germinated unless you have a great window to use. If the plants do not receive enough light once up, they will stretch and become weak and leggy. Click on the image to see the details about it.

Grow Lights and Heat Mats:  You will need light once your seedlings have started growing their first true sets of leaves.  A heat mat is also a great idea, although not mandatory. It heats the soil without making it too warm, and it keeps the soil at a consistent temperature for faster germination. I have used the heat mats shown below and they worked very well.  If you have an amazing window, that will work great for light.  These heat mats work very well if you want to warm your soil and keep it at a

Fertilizer:  Once the plants have reached the stage of the first true sets of leaves, you will need a fertilizer to add nutrients to the soil. If you use soil with fertilizer added, such as the examples above, you will not need any additional fertilizer for your seedling starts. Liquid fertilizer is easiest to use with seedlings. Just add to the water when you are going to water your seedlings. Follow directions on the packing for use.

This is a great fertilizer using plankton if you are looking for an organic fertilizer. Click on the image for details

This is a great fertilizer for all around use for all season. It is not organic. Click on the image for details.

Steps:

Step 1: Take your soilless mix or seed starting mix and add some water to it.  This will activate the wetting agents, so the soil does not dry out too easily.  Mix it with your hands like you were trying to mix butter into the flour.  When finished, your soil should make a loose ball - not stick together totally, and no water should drip out.  

Step 2: Fill your containers with the soilless mix.  Be sure that there are drainage holes in your containers. Do not pack the soil; loosely fill it.  You can tap the container to ensure no air holes but do not pack.  

Step 3:  Knowing how many of these plants you will want to grow for your garden, plant a few extra seeds of each variety if the seed does not germinate.  The back of your seed package will instruct how deep to put the seed.  As a general rule, it should be 2-3 times deeper than the width of your seed.  If the seeds are tiny, they can just lay on the soil.  Do not cover them.  They will need some light to germinate.  If you are worried about them drying out, add a thin layer of vermiculite to the top, but it is unnecessary. Label each container as you go.  

Step 4:  Once all the seeds are planted and labeled, they must be put in a warm place.  This is where the heat mats come in handy.  Seeds germinate much quicker and easier with bottom heat.  If you are planting peppers, for instance, they are harder to grow, and bottom heat will greatly increase your chances of germinating them. 

Some extra tips on germinating:

For extra hard seed casings, you can use a file for sanding the outer coating, so the seed takes moisture easier.  Another method would be to take a small nip out of the pointed end of the seed with a toenail clipper (similar to cutting your nails). That works great for seeds like oranges, lemons, and citrus.  One final method worth noting is using a wet paper towel on a plate.  Place the paper towel on a plate and make it very damp.  Place your seeds on the paper towel and cover them with another layer of damp paper towel.  Make sure it is wet enough that it doesn’t dry out.  Keep checking it for moisture.  When the seeds have sprouted, you can plant them in your containers.  

Step 5:  As soon as the seedlings emerge from the soil, the pots must be put in a bright location.  A great sunny window or a supplemental light source will yield good results.  If using grow lights, they should be 3-4 inches above the plants.  You want to remove the heat mats now, and the sunny window should not be hot.  If the seedlings are too warm, you will get long spindly plants.  Keep them cool, about 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.  This is important.

Step 6:  Once your plants have their first true sets of leaves. (The first leaves you see are the cotyledons).  The first true sets of leaves come after these.  Use a weak fertilizer solution at the start until your plant has two or three sets of leaves. If your soil is enriched with fertilizer, you do not need to add additional fertilizer at this time. Once they have three sets of leaves, start with additional fertilizer.  If you have too many plants in your containers, thin them out but cut out the plants you do not need. Let the best plants take over the pot.  To keep them all, you must transplant them by removing them from the pot and gently separating them. Then put them into a container on their own.  Water them in and let them continue to grow.

Step 7:  Once the weather outside is warming up, you should have healthy, strong plants.  Before planting them outdoors, you must harden them off (get them used to the outside temperature, sun, rain, and humidity levels).  Do this by moving them outside during the day, increasing the time they are out there for the next 7 to 14 days.  Start with indirect light, so they do not burn from the sun.  They must be brought back indoors in the evenings or near the end of the two weeks; if it is too cool, you can cover them to protect them from the cold.  You do not want it to get below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Step 8:  Once they can stay outside and thrive in the conditions, they can transplant into the garden beds or containers. 

For more information on Vegetable Gardening, get our free copy of A Complete Guide To Vegetable Gardening For Beginners.

Why I Should Grow A Vegetable Garden

Instead of setting up a swimming pool or a Zen garden in your backyard, why not plant vegetables? Planting vegetable gardens is a great way to spend quiet time de-stressing while connecting with nature. Having a steady supply of vegetables will also lessen food expenses and improve the health of your loved ones.

Money-saving strategy

It’s difficult to ignore the soaring prices of food items, including vegetables. Although your backyard may be small and your vegetable garden may not provide all you need, it will dramatically reduce your food bill. Imagine not having to run to the grocery store to buy some of the ingredients for your cooking. Some of the most common vegetables that you need are already right there in your very own backyard. Depending on the kind of vegetables you plant and your methods of preserving them, the economic benefits you get from your vegetable garden may be felt all year round.

You may also think your kids will likely eat less each time you serve them vegetables. Kids would prefer to eat burgers, hotdogs, and others. However, several cookbooks are available in bookstores that can show you a variety of appetizing vegetable meals even for kids. When what you serve on the table does not look and taste boring, your kids will surely dig it.

More nutritious meals

With a variety of vegetables practically ready to pick right in your backyard, you will find it more pleasing to cook and serve vegetable dishes to your family. This means everybody will enjoy the numerous health benefits of eating fresh produce since vegetables are packed with tons of nutrients. Aside from the fact that they are low in fats and calories and contain no cholesterol, you will also get a steady source of the following:

• Dietary fiber is important for a normal bowel movement and digestive tract. Dietary fiber is also known to reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the body, lower the risk of heart diseases, and fight off certain forms of cancers. If you are on a diet, you will also feel much fuller faster. Some vegetables rich in dietary fiber are peas, carrots, cabbage, and spinach.

• Potassium - This is necessary for keeping blood pressure normal. It is also important in keeping the brain, muscles, and other tissues functioning normally. Vegetables that are loaded with potassium include potatoes, squash, tomato, eggplant, and celery.

• Vitamins A, B, and C – Vitamin A is great for the eyes and skin. Vitamin C is necessary to maintain healthy connective tissues and is known to boost the immune system. Vitamin B is important for extracting energy in carbohydrates from several food sources. Carrots, asparagus, broccoli, and green pepper are rich in Vitamin A. Broccoli, peas, and beans are great sources of vitamin B. Your dose of vitamin C is supplied by red cabbage, kale, parsley, and turnip.

Other vitamins and minerals you can get from vegetables include calcium, phosphorous, sodium, magnesium, iron, niacin, folate, zinc, and manganese.

Save money and help your kids stay in the pink of health by planting vegetable gardens. Plus, you get that sense of pride each time your family enjoys the meal on the table, whose vegetable ingredients you cultivated yourself in your backyard.

Planting a Vegetable Garden For Stress Relief

More than letting you reduce the sum of money allocated for food, there is another very beneficial effect of planting vegetable gardens that will give your health a great deal of favor: stress relief.

We all know how stress wreaks havoc on our overall health. Aside from the obvious fact that stress takes out joy and serenity in our lives, it is also the root of many illnesses known to man. The negative effects of stress can and will bring several problems, such as heart disease, depression, migraine, eating disorders, and many others. Having your garden in the backyard is an easy and highly accessible method of stress relief. Since a vegetable garden is fairly easier to look after than one with ornamental plants, you know that working on your garden does not simply create additional stress.

The weekends are perfect for unwinding and making up for stressful hours during week-long taxing workplace hours. Different people have different ways of getting rid of stress. Imagine if you have a vegetable garden in your backyard; don your gardening attire, step out and you can immediately get in touch with nature and put behind you the stresses of life. Now compare that to a weekend at the beach. Just the long hours of travel, heavy traffic, and the additional expenses for gas and accommodation will only add to your already stressful life.

Relishing the sunlight

Enough sunlight while tending to your vegetable garden alone will significantly improve your mood. It’s also a great and productive way to have enough vitamin D necessary for proper calcium absorption. Try to picture some of the happiest moments of your childhood; it is without a doubt that most of them were spent under the nourishing radiance of the sun.

Hours spent at the office mean exposure to unnatural light. It is not bad to be exposed to light from incandescent bulbs, but the lack of exposure to the sun's natural light is. Those skyscrapers prevent the sunlight from directly hitting your skin even as you walk to work in the morning.

Attending to the needs of your vegetable garden in the backyard is a great opportunity to get enough sunlight. However, it is best to forego gardening from 11 am to 3 pm as the sun is very intense.

Surrounded with life

Being surrounded by plants alone is both invigorating and encouraging. Days and days spent indoors and at the workplace prevent us from getting in touch with nature; thus, we tend to have limited means to appreciate everything that’s grand and beautiful. Picture yourself being surrounded by plants that teem with life and growth, and their edible parts improve the appetite and nourish the body with essential vitamins and minerals.

Having your little piece of nature can help you eliminate stress. Seeing your vegetable garden alone gets rid of stress by giving you that rewarding feeling of knowing you raised those healthy plants with your hands. Raking, digging, weeding, pruning, and harvesting – all these activities while planting vegetable gardens provide a constructive outlet for all the tensions the body amassed during a week of stressful work.

Advantages of Planting A Vegetable Garden

Is there a patch of land in your backyard left useless all this time? If you’re still undecided about what to make out of it, maybe it’s time you consider planting vegetables. Read on to learn some of the advantages of planting vegetable gardens.

Much Tastier Veggie Treats

Many people attest that vegetables grown in their backyard taste much better than those bought at grocery stores. They remark on their harvests' flavor, whether used as ingredients in a fresh veggie salad or cooked dishes. Be it because of the extra love and care these home-grown vegetables got or the person taking pride in growing crops in their backyard, it doesn’t matter. What matters is what you serve on the table is fresh right off your vegetable garden and more scrumptious for every member of the family to enjoy. You are also assured that what you put on the table is fresh and free from harmful chemicals like preservatives.

Guaranteed No Harmful Chemicals

Chances are you might not fully know whether the vegetables you buy at the supermarket are pesticide-free. Some vendors claim that their vegetables are free from harmful chemicals. What about if the soil where those crops grew was exposed to pesticides before, or they were planted next to crops sprayed with pesticides? Prolonged dietary pesticide exposure is linked to various adverse reproductive and developmental effects, although little data supports this. Your children are at higher risk of the dangers of such chemicals on the vegetables they consume. Their bodies are not yet fully developed to metabolize or excrete such substances properly.

A Great Way to Workout

If you have little or no time to go to the gym or health spa to work out, let gardening provide your daily dose of exercise. Tending your vegetable garden for at least 30 minutes daily is a great way to burn those excess calories and lose weight. You can work several major muscle groups in the body, like the legs, arms, back, buttocks, etc. Gardening also improves your flexibility when you stretch to reach for weeds or bend to plant a seedling.

By the time your crops are ready for harvest, you will notice a change in your body, especially if you look after your garden regularly. Picking the car key that fell on the floor or reaching for a book at the top of a tall shelf will be a lot easier for you to do. Unlike jogging, playing basketball, and others, gardening has less impact on your joints. Gardening is best where vigorous exercises are not applicable, such as for people with high blood pressure, heart diseases, bone joint disorders, and many others.

Help Save The Environment

If commercially grown vegetables receive little demand from consumers, then commercial farmers will find no reason to expand their plantations. So there’s no need to cut down rainforests and devastate the habitats of wild animals. Also, if demand is lowered, farmers will use fewer pesticides and other harmful chemicals that pollute our rivers and the rest of the environment. You might feel that you, as a concerned citizen, cannot contribute that much positive impact on the environment by planting vegetable gardens. But imagine the difference if many people planted vegetables in their backyards.

 You want to start a vegetable garden!  Starting a vegetable garden can be a fun and rewarding experience.  it is the best way to have an abundance of the freshest vegetables available.  Most vegetables are annual plants meaning they live for one growing season.  Some are perennial, meaning they come back every year.