March 1, 2001
G rowing plants from seed is easy... and far cheaper than other planting options. Seed packets cost 75 cents to $3. A six-pack of seedlings costs at least $2.50... one well-developed plant, $5 or more.
PLANTING SUPPLIES
Containers. Use sterile containers -- almost anything will do. I often use empty tofu containers or even old dresser drawers.
Exceptions: Egg cartons and “single-cell” containers are too small for seedlings to develop properly.
To sterilize old containers, soak in a mild bleach solution (one-quarter cup of bleach to a sinkful of warm water) for 20 minutes.
Buy new pots at a hardware store or garden center. Plastic and peat pots are usually cheapest.
Advantage of peat pots: When it’s time to plant in the ground, the pot goes in along with the seedling. That’s particularly worthwhile for difficult-to-transplant seedlings -- squash, cucumber, pumpkin, dill, cilantro, parsley.
Soil. Use a sterile soil mixture to protect against damping-off fungus. Purchase seed-starting dirt -- usually labeled sterile -- at garden centers or grocery stores.
PROPER PLANTING
Fill containers two-thirds full with seed-starting mixture and water. The soil should feel moist all the way through, but not sodden.
Small seeds/for lettuces and other salad greens, broccoli, columbine, pansies, etc.: These instructions assume pots that average 5" x 7". In each pot, make three narrow trenches one-quarter-inch deep using your finger, the end of a pencil or a chopstick. Drizzle the seeds along the furrow.
Cover seeds with planting mixture to fill the pot. Moisten with a little more water.
Mix very tiny seeds, such as poppy, lobelia and impatiens, with clean sand before planting to ensure even distribution.
Large seeds/for tomatoes, basil, peppers, calendula, zinnias, echinacea, marigolds, etc.: Poke a hole in the middle of a three-inch pot, and set seed inside. Place an additional seed at the side of the pot. Cover with soil so that the seed is twice as deep as it is large. For larger pots (6" to 8"), plant three seeds.
Label containers using small garden labels, popsicle sticks, tongue depressors, paint stirrers, masking tape, etc. Be sure to write with indelible ink.
PROPER CARE
Set the planted pots on trays or cookie sheets, surrounded with pebbles, such as marble chips. Water the tray, keeping the water level below the pebbles. Then wrap -- pots and tray -- in plastic, like a miniature greenhouse.
Keep seedling trays in a warm, well-ventilated spot -- but out of direct sunlight. Try on top of the refrigerator or near the clothes dryer.
Add water to the tray daily -- more frequently if necessary to keep the top of the soil moist. Wicking action will draw up water from the tray to plant roots.
When seeds begin sprouting, remove plastic covering and put trays in direct sun or under supplemental lights. Sprouting takes from three days to two weeks.
Transplant seedlings to individual pots once each plant has at least three sets of true leaves -- a small version of the shape of the mature leaves. The first greenery to unfold from the seed is a cotyledon, which looks a bit like a first grader’s drawing of a leaf. There is only one set of cotyledons. True leaves follow.
Continue daily watering until it’s time to plant outdoors.
Once a week, add liquid fertilizer to the plant water, following package directions. My favorites: Sea Mix, liquid seaweed or deodorized fish emulsion. All are available in good garden centers.
PROPER LIGHT
Seedlings require eight or more hours of direct light -- so natural light may need an artificial supplement. If using artificial light only, seedlings require 14 to 16 hours of light daily.
Place seedlings in a southern-exposure window.
Set up supplemental light over a table or sturdy shelves. Use two ordinary fluorescent shop light fixtures, sold in hardware stores, and either two plant light bulbs or one cool fluorescent (more economical) and one plant light. For ease, put lights on a timer.
Keep lights four to six inches above the plants. Raise light fixtures as seedlings grow.
READY TO TRANSPLANT
Check with your local garden center or university extension program to determine the best time to transplant in your area.
Prepare the garden bed with four inches of compost -- make your own or buy it bagged at a garden center. Till the soil after adding compost but before planting.
Dig holes for each plant using a garden trowel. Holes should be the same depth as the seedling pots.
Water the seedlings prior to transplanting so that the roots are nourished and loose. Gently tease plants apart.
Place each seedling in its hole to the same depth that it was in the pot.
Exception: Seedlings that have grown leggy -- with long stems that only have leaves at the end -- should be planted so that most of the stem is below ground.
Cover seedling over with soil and water.
Thereafter, water daily unless there is significant rain (a half-inch or more). To test: Feel to a depth of about two knuckles under the soil. If it is moist, there is no need to water.
