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| Impatiens, 4 weeks old, in little pots. |
It's still a bit early to start most seeds, but about 4 weeks ago I sowed some varieties that require a long growing season. Impatiens, Wave Petunias, Wave Pansies, peppers and celery. I also sowed a variety of herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley, marjoram, lemon balm, Greek oregano). It's early, but I have adequate artificial light, lots of pots to transplant the growing seedlings into, and for later, a small outdoor greenhouse with a spaceheater for use in early April.
I sowed most seeds in small individual but connected plastic cubes filled with damp potting mix, patted down gently. The seeding cubes come in a variety of styles. They could be hexagons, or 6 packs. If you have lots of room, treat your seeds to 4 inch individual pots. I use all kinds of seed starting pots - whatever I have. Note, however, if the containers are too small, seedlings will quickly outgrow tiny pots.
Don't bury tiny seeds deeply in the potting mix - just lightly cover them with soil, pat them gently to make contact with the soil below. Spritz with water. (Lettuce seeds like some light to germinate, so don't bury them).
Put the seeded pots in a tray and onto a seed heating mat- out of direct sunlight. The mat keeps them at a steady warm temperature, ideal for germination. It also improves germination rates, and seeds will pop up uniformly and quickly. If you don't have a heating mat, place the tray in a warmish spot, again out of direct sunlight.
Cover the tray with a clear plastic lid to keep the air and the soil evenly moist. Ideally the potting mix is damp but not soggy. Occasionally, give the seeds a gentle misting with water if the potting mix seems dry. Too strong a blast of water may move the seeds down and around in the potting mix, never to be seen again.
If the seeds are expensive, or I only have a few left, I plant one seed to a little pot.
Once they seeds sprout, at the first sign, move them under lights. In our northern location, (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) the seedlings need artificial light to grow stoutly. A southern window just doesn't provide enough light. Without artificial light at this time of the year, seedlings grown indoors will get spindly. The basement flourescent lights are on a timer and they stay on for 16 hours a day. The seedling tops are fairly close to the lights, about 4-6 inches away.
To improve seedling strength I run a gentle fan over them for about 30 minutes, twice a day. If the fan is too strong, too close, or on for too long, the seedlings will weaken. You want them stressed just a bit, to toughen them up.
If you start the seedlings too early, you might run out of space under the lights on your growing racks. If that happens, do 'shifts' where the seedlings spend 12 hours under lights & 12 hours in darkness - 2 shifts. This involves some moving around of your trays each day, but only for a few weeks.
Water the seedlings, ideally from the bottom - where the potting mix absorbs water. This reduces chances of disease. Keep the seedlings well watered, keep them growing.
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| Parsley beside a pepper plant |
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| Herbs under lights |
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| Tomatoes sprouting up, in hexagon trays. |