Home Yard and garden How-to Planting and growing guides Starting seeds indoors. Quick facts When selecting vegetable varieties, check packets for the number of days until harvest to be sure your choices will ripen before frost. Many long-season vegetables must be started indoors in early spring.
Many annual flowers need an indoor start if they are to bloom during the summer. Planning for indoor seed starting. Open all Close all. Buying seed. Avoid the windowsill Most seeds need consistently warm soil to germinate and produce strong roots. Cooler soil temperatures can lead to seedling death due to disease. Excess heat during the day can dry out the potting mix, leading to seedling death.
Windowsill-grown seedlings tend to be excessively tall, with thin, bent stems. Starting seeds on a windowsill can lead to water damage to woodwork. Soilless seed starting mixtures. When to plant seeds Follow seed packet or catalog instructions, as each species has its own requirements. In Minnesota, annual flowers and heat-loving vegetables such as tomato, pepper and eggplant are usually started in early spring.
Cabbage and broccoli intended for fall crops may be started indoors in June or July. Tiny seeds, such as those of alpine strawberry, may need to be started as early as February. Planting and growing seeds indoors. Sowing seeds Sow fresh seeds individually into each container according to package directions.
If you are unsure about seeding depth, a rule of thumb is to plant a seed four times as deep as its width. Plant a seed deeply enough that three more seeds could be placed directly above it. Identify each container or tray with a tag. Use permanent marker.
Some seeds require light to germinate. Cover them with a thin layer of fine vermiculite, porous enough to permit light to penetrate, yet keep the medium moist enough to encourage seed germination.
Place cell packs containing seeds that need darkness for germination in dark plastic bags or cover them with several layers of newspaper until seeds sprout. I always wanted to save as many seeds in order to save money on buying more seeds for the next round of planting or even for next season.
However, based on my experience of seed starting every year, I have quickly learned that my instincts were wrong! So how many seeds should be planted per hole, cell, or pot? In general, two to three seeds should be planted per hole. Overseeding holes, cells, or pots will help ensure that the number of plants you desire will grow or more! Even after reading my recommendation of planting more seeds than necessary, you still may not be convinced.
If you get anything less than six plants, then you will be disappointed. This example will apply with any method you are using to start your seeds, either by sowing in cells, pots, containers or directly in the ground outside.
Not every seed will sprout. If you have a six cell starter tray for the tomatoes in the example and you plant just one seed per cell, you might end up with only four plants germinating instead of six.
However, if you plant more than one seed per cell, you increase your chances of getting at least six plants. Save space and seed starting mix. This time you use twelve cells and plant one seed per cell because you know not every seed will sprout.
Planting just one seed per cell is a waste of valuable space under your grow lights and also a waste of extra seed starting mix to fill those cells when you only plan on using six plants. If you put more than one seed in six cells, then you save both space and starting mix. Also, you will end up with the same number of desired plants! Below, we will learn about what to do with the extra growth!
Save money! We already figured out that we can save money on seed starting mix. This strategy will also save money because chances of not having to buy starter plants from a store if seeds fail are increased. Soil blocks are an efficient way to grow out seeds without the use of plastic or extra casing. The added benefit is no transplant shock. Eliot Coleman uses soil blocks for all his seed starting. Watch the episode of this scene. Link below. Soil Blocks are a compressed or formed cube, made from a soil medium typically consisting of a sterile mix and compost.
Well-known organic farmer, Eliot Coleman is a huge fan of using soil blocks for all his indoor seed starting. We filmed an episode with Eliot for our television series where you can watch him working with soil blocks in his greenhouse.
A mechanical mold takes a damp soil mix and forms it into a plantable cube. You can pack many of these molds in a tray. When the seedling is ready to plant outdoors, place it directly into the garden and it quickly takes root with no risk of transplant shock.
I also include an entire section to soil blocks in my online gardening course, Master Seed Starting. I share videos on how to mix the block medium and how the blocks are designed to make transplanting really easy. Some seeds will germinate faster if you soak them before planting, but no longer than 24 hours to prevent rot. This applies to hard-coated seeds like morning glories, chard, beets, and okra.
Refer to the back of the seed packet for information about which varieties to pre-soak. The following example is what Craig uses for growing out tomato seedlings. But this technique works well for many varieties of edibles and flowers too.
A single layer of plastic wrap draped over seed trays is an efficient and inexpensive way to trap moisture until seeds germinate. Heat mats placed under the trays aid in rapid germination.
During germination seed trays or containers resting on heat mats are located near a window and for a few weeks after that. This is the time Craig moves them under lights. Craig uses shop lights watt fluorescent bulbs in his garage on a table for his sole source of supplemental lighting.
The trays are placed on the table, and the lights are lowered to within about an inch of the seedlings. Now, the vertical growth begins to slow, and the root growth is encouraged. Direct sun is always better than artificial light. As soon as you are able weather permitting , the sooner you can gradually expose the seedlings to direct sunlight the better. This process is called hardening off.
Shopping with the RHS. RHS Christmas gifts. Help us achieve our goals Make a donation. Join the RHS today and support our charity Join now. Save to My scrapbook. Sowing seed indoors. Quick facts. Suitable for: Annuals, bedding plants, vegetables, tender perennials Timing: Usually spring Difficulty: Moderate. Jump to Suitable for When to sow seed indoors Sowing seed Aftercare and growing on Problems.
Suitable for When to sow seed indoors If you have a heated greenhouse or enough space and light in the house, you can sow some things indoors as early as January e. Sowing seed Containers Small seeds are generally sown into shallow seed trays and pricked out transplanted into larger pots while still at the seedling stage Slightly larger seeds can be sown into individual modules in a modular plug tray, so limiting transplant shock Large seeds can be sown individually into 9cm 3.
These are finely milled and contain few nutrients, which could damage seedlings Fill the container with compost, level, firm gently and water well Sowing Many seeds require specific sowing treatments, such as light-exclusion or scarification scratching or nicking the seed coat , so check seed packets for specific instructions Small seeds can be scatter-sown thinly over the surface of the compost.
Very small seeds can be mixed with fine, dry sand before sowing to obtain an even distribution. After scattering, sift a layer of compost or fine vermiculite over the seeds Larger seeds can be station-sown, pressing each seed individually into the surface of the compost a couple of centimetres 1in apart in a seed tray.
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