A new year means new beginnings, especially for our gardens. With all of our organizing, planning, planting, and germinating, but for many of us, the outside currently looks like this, and direct seeding into our gardens is relegated to just a few specialized plants — things like our carrots, beets, and even peas. For the rest of our summer staples, we’ve got two choices: either buy starter plants in the early spring or create our own by starting our seeds indoors mid to late winter.
Hi, I’ve been starting my seeds early indoors every winter for over two decades now. On top of that, for a stretch of more than a few years, I actually made a living selling thousands of young starter plants every spring. Today, let’s take all of that trial and error, all of that knowledge, and apply it to guaranteed seed starting success. To do that, I’ve got nine key tips that are going to make sure that this is your best seed starting year ever.
**Why Pre-Start:**
For those of you outside of the gardening world or just starting out, you may be asking yourself, why do we need to pre-start plants at all? Isn’t gardening all about where you just plant seeds in nice little rows, and they pop up into rows and rows of fresh veggies? While that can happen with some of the crops that we mentioned before, pre-starting your summer crops indoors early comes with distinct advantages. Starting your plants off early ahead of time means that you get to choose the best, strongest, healthiest individuals that make it out into the garden. Not only do you get to grow the best of the best, but it’s also highly economical because usually, with the fragile early life stages left behind, you’re almost assured that the plants will live and produce.
But the most important advantage might actually be a necessity, and that’s time. For some of us, the warm weather is finite. Our summers have a countdown attached to them, and there’s a window of opportunity to grow certain crops that we have to respect. You see, if a tomato plant like this Roma here takes 80 days to mature, and you’ve only got a 60-day window in the summer to grow them in your garden, well, you’re going to have to make up those three weeks somehow. And the best way to do this is to plant your seeds early indoors and give your crops a head start. Start them early, pick the best of the best by seeding a few more than you need, and get those plants into the garden with the head start they need to produce the harvest that you want.
**Seed Selection:**
Okay, we now know why we start our seeds early and all the benefits that that brings, but how exactly do we ensure that we’re successful with it? Well, that’s where my 9 seed starting tips come in, and it all starts with seed selection. The best crops always start with the best quality seed. Make sure that you’re picking the right varieties for your climate, growing window, and space. Locally sourced seeds are usually a step up from the big box store stuff, and eventually, you may even be able to save your own year after year as well.
Seeds most definitely have a shelf life. Most of our crop seeds last at least three years plus, so even last year’s product is going to be just fine. On top of that, we can always sow more seeds than we need without too much changing logistically, so even a reduced germination rate due to poor viability can be overcome.
Speaking of poor viability, if a seed source is ever in question, we can always do a viability test. It’s super easy, and just using a damp paper towel, you can quickly figure out whether or not the seeds in question are worth it. Look in gardening, soil, space, and time are always at a premium, and lost weeks waiting for seeds that are never going to germinate? Well, that can be devastating. If you’re ever worried about the viability of a particular batch of seeds, don’t wonder, just test them.
Okay, with our best seeds selected both in terms of choice and quality, our next variable to conquer is timing. Like we said, we’re starting our seeds early indoors to get a jump on the season and to lengthen our growing window. The plants that we grow early must go out into the garden at a specific time, but they themselves must also be at a particular growth stage. For the most part, there is some leeway with this, yes, but in general, we want to be starting our seeds indoors roughly six to eight weeks before the last day of frost for our area. That day is going to be different for every region, and all of us are going to be on slightly different schedules.
**Seed Starting:**
For instance, for this year, my last spring frost date is March 21st. Counting backwards six to eight weeks means that I should be starting my seeds indoors between January 24th and February 7th. It’s a loose window, and obviously, some crops are going to grow faster or slower than others, but as long as you start your seeds about one to two months before your last frost date, you should be a-okay.
Alright, with the selection of the seeds and the timing all figured out, let’s look at the containers. Your seeds can be planted and started in pretty much anything that holds soil. They don’t care as long as it drains water, you can use it. I’ve even made perfectly usable seed containers using cut-up paper towel rolls. If your goal is to grow just a few dozen plants or less, you can go with individual small pots. That’s your best bet. They can sprout, live, and grow perfectly fine in them all the way up to the transplant stage.
If you’re going to be doing more plants than that, it might be wise to step up to the professional seedling trays. More than ever, they’re readily available, and the prices have become quite reasonable. The most common ones out there are the 72 or the 98 cell trays. Just make sure to get the hard plastic ones; you want them to last for at least several years. You’re also going to need the accompanying catch tray underneath to hold water, and as well, these things get pretty heavy, especially once the plants start growing, so I splurge and get the extra support tray. This system really does up your seed starting game and makes everything so much easier and so much more uniform.
With the house all set up, let’s go ahead and focus on some soil. The right seed starting soil can make all the difference for both germination and the successful subsequent growth right after sprouting. Make no mistake, seeds are marvelous creations. As if the act of germination wasn’t amazing enough, they contain all they need to grow well after the fact. As such, seeding soil doesn’t need to contain any nutrients at all. In fact, I prefer that it doesn’t. There’s a reason that we can sprout seeds in just water. For at least a couple of weeks after germination, the young plants can feed off the seed itself.
So for at least the first three to four weeks after planting, the soil doesn’t need any nutrition at all. After that, though, especially for the quick growers like this zucchini here, we are going to need some nutrients if they’re going to continue to thrive. For me, rather than starting with a nutrient-rich seeding soil right off the bat, I go with a relatively inert medium and then follow it up with my own organic liquid feed after the first true leaves appear.
My ideal seeding mixture is something I make myself, and it’s 75% coconut fiber, 25% compost, and then sprinkled in with some vermiculite for moisture retention, and then a little bit of perlite for aeration and drainage. Conversely, if you’re only growing a few plants, you can buy dedicated seed starting soil just as easy. It’s not expensive, and most are going to do the job adequately. The right soil really is foundational for seed starting success. You know, I’ve seen more heavy, compacted soils ruin seed starting dreams than I care to imagine.
Allowing those side and tap roots to proliferate and colonize rapidly while also providing an easy light pathway for the initial shoot to find its way up is imperative. It cannot be overstated how important the soil medium is for your seeding success.
**Moisture:**
The next big tip on our list is moisture. Now, moisture is huge because without it, there’s no germination, there’s no sprouting. Through a process known as imbibition, the seed coat absorbs water, cracks, and splits under the pressure, allowing enzymes within the seed to start the process of sending out the first root radical. Then the first shoots pop out shortly after. It’s beyond amazing, and all seeds need is water to accomplish this.
In a planted setup though, it’s the moisture to air ratio that’s most critical. We can’t just submerge our trays and pots and hope to be successful. To get past the initial germination stage, the soil needs to be moist, yes, but never saturated. So the easiest way to accomplish perfect moisture levels is to simply pre-soak the soil prior to planting, let it soak up as much moisture as it can hold, and then drain off the excess. If your seeding medium is up to par, it’ll retain that moisture all through germination well into the first part of the seedling’s life.
For some of my seedling trays, like these Roma tomatoes here, depending on the transpiration rate, I might not need to water them for well up to a month after initial germination. Drying out for a fresh young seedling is bad, no doubt, but oversaturated, waterlogged seedlings can be equally as disastrous. With our trays and pots filled and that soil pre-soaked, everything is in place to set the stage for the perfect planting, and that perfect planting all starts with the right depth.
**Planting Depth:**
Every variety of every crop has a desired depth to plant the seeds at. Luckily for us, all the seed packets you buy at the store are going to have this information available for you. And if not, it’s readily available online. Now, if you’ve got the right moisture, too shallow seems to be better than too deep, so err on that side if you’re unsure.
The orientation for large flat seeds like the melons or even the squash doesn’t really seem to matter. The plants figure it out soon after germination, so don’t stress. Three of the four ingredients for optimal germination are soil moisture and seed depth.and the fourth is temperature. The warmer it is, the faster the sprouting process, but too warm, and you’re going to start to see deformed seedlings and decreased germination rates. So try to stay under 90 degrees Fahrenheit, but for sure over 75. Less than that, and the germination is going to be really slow as well. Also, affect those rates. A warm room, grow lights, or heat mats are the most common ways to introduce heat.
If a high rate of seeding success has eluded you in the past, chances are temperature could have been an issue.
**Light:**
And lastly, we’ve got light. Just like moisture and food are necessary for the young seedlings moving forward, light is key for facilitating that. Very soon after germination, plants begin looking for light. They’ll stretch and stretch, trying to reach that last photon of light that they need. And while admirable, this isn’t always a good thing. Long, leggy, and weak plants are the result of not enough or the wrong kind of light. Remember, we’re trying to grow the biggest and best plants possible, and that can only happen when the young plant’s light needs are completely met.
Fortunately for us, advancements in LED technology have put this in the reach of the average grower, with decent grow lights starting at just 50 bucks. Having said that, nothing beats the sun, though, and clever gardeners are always going to find a way to get their seedlings into real light as soon as possible. Honestly, your seedlings can never have enough light, and other than onions, 16 hours on, 8 hours off works just great, and that’s what I’ve used for the last 15 years.
Light is important, yes, but it’s also at the summit of the accumulation of the other eight factors that we just talked about. And when you put it like that, you realize how much info we just covered. Too much to digest on one go-around. So let’s recap the main points, as well as all nine tips to hammer it home.
**Recap:**
For many of us growers, we start seeds early indoors to get a jump start on the season. It not only helps us to plant the best of the best, but it also allows us to grow long summer crops when our summers may be short. The seeds themselves are amazing, and the viable ones can germinate in just water. But as we soon find out, that initial taproot starts looking for a medium, usually soil, and it does this right away to anchor itself for proper orientation.
Soon after getting itself established, the soil also acts as the vector that carries the young plant’s nutrition. With the right soil moisture and, of course, some heat, most of your veggie seeds are going to sprout within a week or so, provided they’re planted at the right depth. Pretty soon, they’re also going to be looking for light — full spectrum LED or sunlight through a window is what you want, 14 to 16 hours on per day if it can manage it.
When it all boils down, honestly, getting the right soil mix and the correct moisture to air ratio is 90% of the battle. Heat and water are always going to germinate viable seeds no matter what, but it’s what you do after that that is going to determine your long-term success.
Starting seeds early is an annual rite of passage for most gardeners, especially those in temperate regions. Getting that head start is crucial so that we growers with short summers still get to enjoy the fruits of our favorite crops. Hopefully, with these nine tips that we shared here today, you’ll be well on your way to seeding success and your best gardening year ever. Best of luck, guys, and I’ll see you soon.
