Starting Plants Indoors
How to Start Your Plants Indoors using Seed
Starting your own plants indoors from seed is easy, if you have the supplies you need.
Supplies You Will Need:
Seed. Make sure you start with a good-quality seed. If you have a favorite tomato and you saved the seeds from that, they would be perfect to use. Fresher seeds have a better germination rate than seeds that have been laying around in a cupboard for years. If you are looking for a supply of
High-quality seed starting mix or soilless mix - This mix is specially formulated to have great drainage, have 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. This mix works well for potting and for starting seeds.
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 work great as well. If you want to purchase trays for starting plants, you can purchase this kit of seed starting trays. It contains trays with an adjustable humidity dome and plant stakes so you will not be mixing up your seeds.
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. If you have an amazing window, that will work great for light. If the light is at a premium, be sure to get yourself a grow light.
Fertilizer: Once the plants have reached the stage of the first true sets of leaves, you will need a fertilizer for young plants to add nutrients to the soil. When plants are young I would use this Miracle Grow fertilizer at half strength. If you prefer an organic fertilizer I would choose this Natures Care fertilizer from Miracle Grow
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 around 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, just loosely fill it. You can tap the container to make sure there are no air holes but do not pack.
Step 3: Knowing how many of each of these plants you will want to grow for your garden, plant a few extra seeds of each variety in the event the seed does not germinate. The back of your seed package will give instructions as to 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 very tiny, they can just lay on top of the soil. Do not cover them with soil. They will need some light to germinate. If you are worried about them drying out, you can add a thin layer of vermiculite to the top, but it is not necessary. Label each container as you go.
Step 4: Once all the seeds are planted and labeled, they need to 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 to sand the outer coating a bit so the seed takes in 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 need to be put into a bright location. A great sunny window or a supplemental light source will give you good results. If using grow lights, they should be 3-4 inches above the plants. You want to remove the heat mats at this time, and the sunny window should not be hot. If the seedlings are too warm, you are going to 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 solution at the start until your plant has two or three sets of leaves. 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. If you want to keep them all, you will need to transplant them by removing them all 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 you can plant them outdoors, you will need to 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 amount of 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 will be 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 are ready to transplant into the garden beds or containers.
