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Historical April–May 2019 article. Dates, prices, services and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
People start their own seedlings for many reasons.
Some gardeners choose to start seeds in order to get the right plant. Nurseries have many types of plants, but only a few varieties. Starting your own seedlings means that you can choose colors, flavors, and even species not carried by nurseries. Selecting good varieties and good seeds is a skill. Read the back of the packet to learn more about each plant’s requirements. For example, plants grow best in the correct Plant Hardiness Zones. St. Louis is in Zone 6b. Choosing the date for harvesting your vegetables or flowers is a very common reason for starting seedlings at home.
To decide a date for harvest, check the seed pack for the number of days it takes the plant to harvest or blossom, look at a calendar, and count backwards.
This gives you a tentative planting date.
If the planting date falls before April 15th, start your plants indoors, to prevent exposure to frost. Frost kills young plants.
To germinate seeds, you need pots, something clear to cover them (plastic wrap or clear covers), soil, water and light. You can recycle old plastic pots, make them out of recycled materials or buy them.
With recycled pots, wash and sanitize them with a weak bleach/water solution and let them dry, before adding soil. For soil, a common recommendation is to use seed starting soil or mix your own, because it is sterilized. Potting soil works, but seeds often do not require the fertilizers commonly added.
A simple mixture of peat moss or coconut fiber, perlite and vermiculite works well. Seed starting soil is very light, drains quickly, but keeps some moisture, the best conditions for seeds to sprout.
The process for planting is simple. Moisten the soil before filling the pots. Seeds have specific recommendations for planting depth, but the usual rule is to plant them at a depth three times their width. Bigger seeds are generally planted deeper, although it is better to plant a seed shallower rather than deeper. Seed germination is triggered by light, temperature, and moisture. South facing windows with radiators are ideal for starting seeds, but any warm spot with bright light works.
If using electric lights, put the fixtures about six inches from the soil.
When the seedlings germinate, always keep the lights close to the top of the seedlings. Light them for 14-16 hours a day.
As they grow, keep the lights just above the leaves.
This prevents tall, weak, “leggy” plants.
The temperature should be kept between 60 and 70 degrees. Heating from the bottom (like on a radiator) is good, because bottom heat promotes root growth. Use a fan or lightly brush your hand over the top of the seedlings to strengthen the stems. Keep the plants in a tray and water the tray; seed starting soil is so light, watering can wash the plant out of the pot. Keep them moist, but don’t leave seedlings sitting in water. That can lead to damping off, a fungal disease which weakens the stems.
The first leaves are called “seed leaves.” They are not true leaves, but really part of the seed.
When the second set of leaves appear, they should look like the mature leaves of the plant.
When regular leaves appear, it is time to start fertilizing or repot the seedlings into fertile soil, like potting soil.
The process of getting plants accustomed to outdoor conditions is called, “hardening off.” Start about two weeks before transplanting outdoors. Put them outside in a shady location for short periods of time to start. Gradually increase the time and the amount of direct sunlight to which they are exposed.
After two weeks of gradual hardening off, replant them in the ground, making sure to water them in. Starting seedlings is as rewarding as caring for a garden.
The gardener gets to determine planning, planting and caring for the garden.
The sense of stewardship brings you closer to nature, but like parenting, there is a sense that you are responsible for lives from the very beginning to the stage when they are part of a productive whole.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, April–May 2019.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times2019_04.pdf, printed page(s) 4; PDF page(s) 4.
