Wednesday, July 31, 2013

My Tips for Seed Starting

Sometimes you get lucky and you plant a seed, give it a bit of water and it grows.  Other times it takes more effort to get things growing.

1. Remember that each seed variety germinates at a different rate.  Example:  Beans can take as few as 5 days to germinate while tomatoes may take up to 14 days.  Cabbage can germinate in as few as 5 days and peppers typically germinate in 10-14 days.

2.  Soak your seeds.  Not all seeds should be soaked (corn) but others like my peppers and tomatoes germinate quicker after a 12-24 hour soaking.  I soak beans for only 3 hours before I plant.

3.  Water.  It is important to keep your soil moist but not drenched.  Standing water is a no-no for germinating seeds.  On the other hand, if you let your soil completely dry out you might kill the delicate germinating seeds.

4.  Soil.  Most of my seeds are planted in Peat Pellets.  I know that the soil has not been contaminated with soilbourne fungus or disease AND Peat pellets make transplanting simple and easy.  When transplanting peat pellets I place the entire pellet into the ground or soil-filled container and cover with dirt.  EASY!

5. Warmth.  Seeds and seedlings should be kept warm during germination and growth.  Some people use grow lights.  I use my laundry room where I have plenty of natural light and no air conditioning.

Before you plant seedlings into their permanent home it is important to know the quality of your soil.  If your soil is like mine was when we first moved in it might take a few months (or a year) to grow a thriving garden.  To see the beginning of my garden check out Organic Gardening in South Florida.  Here's a teaser...
"In our current yard I was appalled at the state of the dirt when I first dug in. About 12 inches deep I found hard-packed, sandy soil.  About 6 feet away, also 12 inches deep I found construction junk like broken tiles."
Organically grown Serrano Peppers, Fine Verde Basil, Purple Opal Basil and Genovese Basil

I'm Guest posting over at Artistic Expressions!
Sharing this informative post HERE

12 comments:

My Recent Favorite Books said...

Thanks for the Gardening tips!
Stopping by from "Thursday Favorite Things" !

Have a great week!
Melissa

Unknown said...

Good tips for starting your own seeds, I would love it if you came over and shared this post on the HomeAcre Hop today! Nancy
On The Home Front

Heavenly Bodies said...

I knew some seeds needed to be soaked, but not all. Is there somewhere where I could get a list of soaking times for various seeds?

Mary Smith said...

I couldn't find an article for which to soak just why to soak.

Libby said...

Thanks for these great tips. I'm definitely interested in the peat pellets.

Patrice said...

These are great - I love peat pellets.

Unknown said...

Great gardening tips! Love it! Saw you at My Turn for us and had to come over!

We would love for you to come share your tips (and others) at Super Sunday over at Who Needs a Cape! http://whoneedsacape.com/2013/08/super-sunday-link-party-9/

Self Sagacity said...

I think you are right about soaking the seeds. I have some plants growing from my grapefruit and lemon seed experiment.

Jamie Koenig said...

I've been looking for some information on starting seeds!!! I would love it if you would link up at our first linky party this Wednesday :
http://thekoenigscreate.blogspot.com/

Pams Party said...

These are really great tips. I have tried before but I am not always successful in getting strong seedlings. You are today's Dare to Share Feature of the Day. http://www.pamspartyandpracticaltips.com/2013/08/tips-for-starting-seeds-feature-of-day.html

Black Fox Homestead said...

These are great tips! Thank you for sharing them with us at the HomeAcre Hop! http://wp.me/p2urYY-14z

April said...

I have no luck at all growing things from seeds, but your tips make me hopeful I CAN do it. Thanks so much for sharing your ideas at "The Saturday Spotlight party"!
Have a great weekend and hope to see you at this weeks party!

April