Before you start seeds indoors.

1. Make sure that’s the best solution for that particular crop.  Check out the Top 10 Easiest Veggies to Grow From Seed.  There you will find lots of healthy plants that did better when I planted them in situ (ie, directly in the ground).

2. Read, read, read.  Read the back of the seed packet, read what the seed company says about the plant on its website, read any material sent with your seeds regarding how to plant, and read the seed starting chapters in organic gardening books.  The more you know going in, the better the chance of your seeds thriving into wonderfully fruit-producing plants.

3. Determine your last frost date.  I know you want to start gardening, you’re ready for spring, you’re looking at all these wonderful things happening on different garden blogs... but there’s snow outside, you’re in Zone 4, and your last frost date might be in May... 

The general rule of thumb is to start your seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before the last danger of frost.  You can push it a little bit, if you have cloches, cold frames, frost blankets, a greenhouse, or some other sort of season extension.  But if you don’t have those, you should make sure to plant out after the danger of frost has passed, rather than risk losing your crops to a late frost.

How do you determine your last frost date?

Ever wonder why the Old Farmer’s Almanac has been around forever and people still read the thing?  Well, one of the reasons people read it is because it has details of the last frost dates for each region.  Here’s an abbreviated version (here for Canada), and you can pay online to have a more detailed version for your particular area in North America.

If you’re not in North America and/or you don’t want to pay to find this out, you can ask around, find out what your neighbors remember.  You can ask in your local nursery.  You can contact your local Master Gardeners.  You can call the local Farm Bureau/Commission.  You can ask the farmers at your local farmer’s markets.   And your local library will probably have the latest Farmer’s Almanac and other reference materials for your area.

I highly recommend keeping your own garden journal that includes your garden’s last frost date from year to year, as your yard will have its own unique micro-climate.

Is that the same as my Zone?

If all you can do is determine your zone, this will help.  However, the zone is a different indicator than the last frost date.  Your zone is an indicator of how hardy your plants need to be to survive the winter. 

Basically what determines your zone is the average minimum temperature in your area.  It does not indicate how long temperatures will remain low, nor when your last freeze or frost will be.

That said, if you’re in a zone 4, chances are that your last frost date is going to be much later than someone in zone 10. 

Equipment Needed.

Seed starting medium

Seedling trays, or any sort of container with holes at the bottom

Pencil

Plant identification markers

Hydrogen Peroxide (for sanitizing everything you use)

Starting Seeds Indoors.

The Coconut Pellet Method

This is my favorite method, having worked for me every time.  I purchase coconut pellets from Peaceful Valley Farm Supply.  They’re 12 cents each, if I buy more than 100.  It may sound like a lot, but if I factor in the ease of use, and the fact that I don’t need to purchase a separate seed starting medium, it is worth it to me.

1.  Sterilize.

I wash all of my seed trays with warm soapy water.  Then I sterilize them by swishing a bit of hydrogen peroxide (diluted 3:1, water:hydrogen peroxide).  And finally, I give them a quick rinse.

2.  Soak.

I soak the coconut pellets in warm water for about 5 minutes.  It will change as follows:

I soak them in a seedling flat, because I find it easier to keep them upright.

Then, I place them on a mesh seedling tray which I bought at BGH (through Amazon.com).  I use the mesh tray rather than a solid one, because when it’s time to water the seedlings, I can just submerge my mesh tray into a hole-less tray filled with water. 

And I spread out the mouth of the pellets a bit:

3.  Label.

Then I label my rows before I plant, so I don’t forget what I planted where.  I prefer Cole’s aluminum plant markers (I buy mine from Harmony Farm Supply for $6.49), because the wooden ones deteriorate very quickly, long before the growing season is over.  These are reusable, too.  I mark them with the name of the plant on the front, and the date planted on the back (leaving room for many future planting dates).

4. Plant.

I take a pen or pencil, and put two holes in each coconut pellet at the depth indicated for that seed.  No need to worry about getting this perfect, just approximate.  If you don’t know how deep to plant your seeds (it’s not on the back of the seed packet or in a book anywhere), a general rule of thumb is to plant them two times deeper than the width of the seed.

Then I drop one seed into each hole, and gently cover the holes with the pen/pencil.  When the seeds sprout, I’ll remove one, and leave only the strongest of the two seedlings.

5.  Give them warmth and light.

Again, check the back of the seed packet to see what the optimum germination temperature is.  If you can’t find it, a general rule of thumb is 60-80F.  And yes, they do need light.  A windowsill with a lot of light will work great.  You can put a humidity dome on them to keep them warmer and more moist.  I put them in my growing rack outside, which is about 10-20F warmer than exterior temperatures.

If you put them under full-spectrum grow lights, those lights will need to be 2-4” from the tops of the seedlings, and turned on for 16 hours/day.  You must raise the lights proportionally to the seedlings as they grow.

6.  Pot On

A plant’s first set of leaves looks very different than the plant will look later on.  Usually the first set of leaves is much wider, to maximize the amount of nutrients taken from sunlight.  The next set of leaves will be the plant’s “true” leaves.  You should pot seedlings into larger pots when then have their second set of true leaves.

Other Mediums for Starting Seeds.

You want to make sure you use a light soil that is not too heavy in nutrients (later on you will need to feed the seedlings with a dilute fertilizer).  Regular potting soil will not work well for this, nor will straight dirt from the garden. Whatever you use must also be a sterile medium so that you reduce the risk of dampening off disease.

Coconut Brick.

Tonight I’m using a coconut medium that comes in a brick.  (I buy mine from Harmony Farm Supply for $1.99.)  I re-hydrate it the same way:

One small brick makes about 2 flats worth of seeding medium.  I fill divided seedling cells (found at most nurseries) almost to the top, leaving about 1/4-1/2”:

And follow the rest of the steps above.

Peat Pots.

I have personally tried peat pots and not liked them at all.  They fall apart too quickly, they’re too thick for the roots to push through, and there are environmental issues attached to using peat (I know some would disagree with that, but I’ll address peat more in a later post).  Here’s what they look like:

Soil Blockers.

Soil blockers work very well for some people.  I simply haven’t tried them yet.

What Method Do You Use to Start Seedlings?