How to Start Seeds (For Lazy Gardeners Like Me)
I am a lazy gardener. Maybe that is a bit of an oxymoron since gardening, even the way I do it, does take a fair bit of work. But I like to keep my gardening simple, using the least amount of effort and fewest inputs while still getting good results.
One of the areas that causes new gardeners a lot of stress is seed starting. That feeling of overwhelm is understandable. You need at least a basic set of equipment to start seeds indoors, and some seeds (herbs, in particular) require special treatment to be successful. And gardening is one of those topics that is both deep and wide. You could spend multiple lifetimes learning all there is to know. It is enough to stop a lot of folks from even starting.
But I assure you: gardening can be easy, inexpensive, and fun.
Start seeds or buy starts?
On the topic of seed starting, know that you do not have to start seeds indoors to have a great garden. I quite frequently don’t bother with it. It is so easy to buy the plants you want, already started and ready to go in the ground. Farmer’s markets, co-ops, greenhouses, plant sales, and online retailers all sell plants. You can pretty much find anything you want. Depending on the size of your garden, it can be less expensive to buy plants rather than starting seeds.
That may shock you, because it can be quite expensive to buy plants, especially if you are planning a large garden. I once blew an entire paycheck at my favorite plant sale! However, seed starting is its own investment and the first year is particularly spendy.
I may have gone a little nuts this year. These are just the herbs I am starting. I have at least as many vegetables.
A packet of seeds costs roughly the same amount as most herb or vegetable starts, typically around $3 - $4. That seed packet will have dozens to hundreds of seeds, true, but you will need to set yourself up to start them and care for them, indoors, for up to 8 weeks. That includes the cost of running grow lights for 16 hours a day. You will definitely see a bump in your electric bill, even if you use LED lights.
If you are starting a smallish garden and you don’t want to be bothered starting seeds, I suggest buying starts. It will save you both time and money.
In addition, many seeds don’t need to be started in advance and can be sown directly in your garden. Carrots, beans, and peas are great examples of vegetable seeds you can sow directly in your garden when the soil is warm enough. Some herbs actually do better when sown in place. Think about what you would like to grow and learn about the specific needs of those plants before you spend a bunch of cash on seed starting equipment.
How to get started with seed starting
I am starting seeds this year because I am planning several gardens. However, this year I had to start from scratch because last year I was living in a tiny house on wheels and I got rid of pretty much everything I owned to live in the tiny house, including a lot of my garden and seed starting supplies. I have several large gardens planned so it seemed worthwhile. Here is a list of what I got. It is basic and suited to my “lazy” approach to gardening.
· Mini indoor greenhouse
· Set of 4 grow lights
· Set of 4 heat mats for placing under trays
· Seed starting pellets with trays and a dome
· Extension cord with multiple outlets and built-in timer
· Soil
· Compostable pots
I found an inexpensive little indoor greenhouse at my local farm store. It’s nice because it holds in heat and moisture which helps the seeds germinate. It also has four shelves, providing some space to keep all my seedlings as well as a place to hang lights over the seed trays.
Make sure you put some sort of plastic tray or protective mat under your greenhouse to catch condensation. I did not and now I have a bunch of towels packed underneath sopping up the mess.
I got a set of small grow lights on Amazon (not my favorite shopping choice but there aren’t a lot of options where I live). I also got a set of heat mats to place under the trays. The heat mats are essential. They warm the soil, encouraging germination, and keep the whole inside of the greenhouse warm, too.
There are many better ways to start seeds than the pellets, but this year I was looking for easy and readily available. Every store around here has the exact same seeding starting materials. Every store. Pellets were the only option, so it was pellets I chose. Seed starting pellets are coconut coir in a little paper fiber sheath. They start small and expand when you water them. There is an opening in the middle with a divot for the seed. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t my favorite. They’re actually kind of fiddly and it is difficult when seeds are super tiny as they all sort of cluster in the middle of the pellet and then you get a mass of sprouts that you have to carefully thin. They work in a pinch, though.
Seed-starting pellets with melon sprouts.
You could also just buy a tray, fill it with seed starting material (not soil), and sow your seeds in rows. They will need to be pricked out when they’re ready to transplant. There are other ways to do this but special equipment is required (like soil blockers). I will not be covering that here.
The extension cord with timer is a must. Mine has 8 outlets, 4 of which are always on, and 4 of which are on a timer. I plugged the lights into the timer side, and the heat mats into the other side. Perfect. Everything stays warm around the clock and the lights are on for 16 hours and off for 8 hours. And I don’t have to remember to do anything. It was very handy when I went out of town last weekend!
Timing is everything
When you start seeds really depends on what zone you live in, when the average last frost date is, and whether you have season extenders like an outdoor greenhouse, low tunnel, or one of many other season-extending options. In my experience, most small-time home gardeners don’t have season extenders. I don’t have anything yet but do plan on investing in something this year.
In general, starting seeds 6 – 8 weeks before the average last frost date will leave you with good-size starts by the time conditions are ready for planting. Here in zone 3, if you don’t have season extenders, it is usually safe to start planting at the end of May. Starting seeds in late March – early April is a good idea.
Be prepared with a protective cover after you plant though. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, frost could occur any time of year in zone 3. This year I believe it. It’s April 20th and it is snowing. Again. Spring has yet to arrive here in northern MN. There is still close to a foot of snow in some places. Temperatures are still hovering around freezing. It feels as though garden season is still a long way off. And yet, seed starting season is well underway.
If you are living in a place without frost, well, lucky you! The rules are different for you as there are probably things you can plant year-round. Having never lived in a place that doesn’t have winter weather, I don’t have any experience and thus, no advice.
Vegetables and herbs have different requirements
If this is your first time starting seeds, I suggest sticking with vegetables. They are very easy and don’t require any special handling. Many will germinate very quickly which is really gratifying. And many don’t need to be started in advance at all. This year, despite knowing better, I started some beans and melons in pots. They germinated in a couple of days and are already quite large, almost too large to keep in my little greenhouse! With the weather still locked in mid-winter mode this may have been a fatal mistake (for the plants, that is).
Good vegetables to start indoors include tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, etc. In general, plants that need longer than 90 days to be harvest ready (again, this is zone 3 advice). A lot of melons fall into that category, but I forgot how quickly they grow. I probably could’ve waited until early May to start them inside. Oh well.
Look at these babies! They have already outgrown the pots I put them in last week. Gah! I am not sure if these will make it into the ground.
You may want to start herbs indoors. Starting herbs often requires special handling and it will differ from plant to plant. Some need to be scarified (nicked or scratched), some need stratification (a period of cold before planting), some need both scarification and stratification, some are light-dependent germinators, and some need multiple cycles of warm and cold to germinate. Do your homework well in advance of seed starting season as you may need to prep your seeds months in advance. The company that you purchased seeds from is a great place to start for advice.
Herb seeds can take much longer to germinate than vegetable seeds. If you’re new to seed starting this can be frustrating and disheartening. Be prepared to wait and be prepared to accept that all your seeds may not germinate.
Transplanting
Your sweet little seeds have sprouted. Now what? Once your seedlings have their first set of true leaves (generally the 2nd set of leaves, the first set are the cotyledons and are not true leaves) you will need to transplant them. This is where the pellets are kind of handy. You can just put a bit of good soil mix into a pot, place your pellet with sprout in the pot, top off with more soil, and water.
You will need some pots. Plastic is fine (just save them to use next year) but I like compostable because you can plant them directly into your garden without removing the plants from the pot. The roots will grow right through the pot.
A week or so before planting your starts in your garden, you will want to harden them off. You do this by putting your plants outside for a period of time each day and eventually overnight. On the first couple of days, I usually just leave them out for a few hours. Young tender plants can be sensitive, and I have inadvertently burned plants by leaving them out for too long right away. On the other hand, keep an eye on the weather forecast. If frost if predicted be sure to bring them in until the danger passes. Also bring plants in if it is going to be very windy. Or there’s hail or other inclement weather.
Once the plants have acclimated to being outside, they are ready to go in the ground. Yahoo! Water them well (but don’t overwater) and then be patient. Eventually you will reap the fruits of your labor. It really is gratifying to start plants from seed and nurture them to maturity. It makes the harvest that much sweeter.
Happy gardening!