Guidelines for Germinating Seeds Inside Your Home
Dobbing a seedling in dirt and watching it burst forth into greenery is one of the most blood-pumping aspects of homestead life. The sight of that verdant growth popping up through the soil, stretching towards the light, just sparks a sense of satisfaction that's hard to match.
Kicking off the growing season early with indoor seed-starting offers a jolt of energy - even for us folks with short growin' seasons. It allows us to cultivate an assortment of vegetables, flowers, and herbs that we wouldn't be able to grow otherwise, due to our limited season.
Indoor seed-startin' gets you the chance to grow all sorts of delectable goodies, from peppers to tomatoes, even onions. You'll be able to get a jumpstart on the growing season, even when outdoor temperatures are still frigid.
The Benefits of Seed Starting Indoors
Prolonging the Growin' Season
As you might've guessed, indoor seed-starting gives you a pre-spring booster, helping you extend your growin' season. It's especially handy when you're tryin' to cultivate plants that need more time to grow than what you got in your season.
More Variety
When you grow your own seeds, you'll have a whole world of plant varieties at your fingertips. Your local garden center might only carry a select few choices of each plant. But when you source your own seeds, you can choose from a dizzyin' array of different strains.
Pinching Pennies
Startin' from seed is a whole lot cheaper than buyin' starts from the local store. You can pick up an entire packet of seeds for less than what you'd pay for a single plant or 6-pack from most nurseries.
Healthier Plants
Sure, buyin' seedlings from the store's got its benefits. But more often than not, those store-bought seedlings ain't exactly in the best shape, and they're less likely to thrive compared to the homegrown variety. And with home-grown seeds, you get to decide exactly how they're grown and what's used to grow 'em. No question about what chemicals might've been sprayed on 'em before they hit your garden.
When to Start Seeds Indoors
Different seeds need different lengths of time to thrive before they're transplanted outdoors, so it's essential to start 'em at the right time.
Some plants, like onions, take a while to mature before they go outdoors. Others, like tomatoes, need a couple of months before they're ready to be transplanted. Whereas lettuce, cabbage, and broccoli don't need as much growin' time before they're moved outside.
To know when to start a specific seed, you'll want to consider two factors: how long it takes the seed to grow, and your growin' zone. Check the back of the seed packet to find out how many weeks the seed needs to be sown indoors before it's transplanted (or if it's recommended to sow directly outside). You can also check this website to find your last predicted frost date.
Essential Seed-Startin' Supplies
- Seeds - You'll clearly need some seeds to start seeds. You can find a plethora of vegetable seeds locally, or check out one of my favorite places to buy organic seeds, or use seeds you've saved yourself.
- Soil or Seed Starting Mix - While some folks swear you absolutely need a sterile growing medium, the seed has plenty of energy to sprout. I've seen people grow seeds in compost, in garden soil, and using regular potting soil - and they've all worked. We don't use either cells or seed-starting mix anymore, instead, we make soil blocks using a soil blocker.
- Plastic Trays or Starter Cells (or a Soil Blocker) - Once your seedlings start to grow, you'll want to transplant 'em into larger containers. You can find reusable options, like Hortiblock Transplant Trays, that are designed to air-prune roots and minimize transplant shock.
- Grow Lights - Light is vital for plant growth, and all plants need it to photosynthesize. T8 or T12 fluorescent lights in a shop light fixture can get the job done. LED lights are energy-efficient alternatives, but make sure they're all-spectrum. Personally, we use T5 fluorescent bulbs but, y'all do whatever works for you!
- Stickers, Tape, and a Garden Journal - Labelin' your trays with cell numbers instead of trying to stick individual labels in each cell makes life way simpler. I use painters tape to label the sides and tops of the tray, then label each row and column with a number. Once you start plantin' your seeds, take a sheet of paper and jot down the variety and the row and column number, such as "Cherokee Purple, Row 1, Columns 1-4". Then place this paper in your garden journal so you know what's where in your seed tray(s).
- Watering Can - You'll need to keep the soil moist when you're growin' seeds, so you'll want a watering can handy. Some folks even spray their seedlings, but I recommend bottom watering. If you're usin' cells, you'll have to lift up a corner to water from the bottom. If you're usin' soil blocks, leave spaces between each block so you can water via the channels between each block.
- Optional: Heat Mat - Every growin' season has its challenges, and cold temperatures can make it tough for warm-weather plants to sprout. A heat mat can help, but it ain't essential.
- Optional: Shelves or Indoor Greenhouse - If you're short on space, indoor seed-startin' can get overwhelmed pretty fast. To keep things organized, consider investin' in shelves or an indoor greenhouse to hold all your seed trays.
How to Start Seeds Indoors
Step 1
Fill a plastic tray with seed-startin' mix and moisten it well. If you're usin' soil blocks instead of cells, add a bit more water than usual.
Step 2
Set your cell tray inside another plastic tray (or use the soil blocker). Fill each cell to the top with the moist soil mix. Label the tray with painters tape and a marker, noting each row and column with a number.
Step 3
Sprinkle seeds on the surface of the soil for plants like lettuce, snapdragons, and many herbs. For larger seeds, plant 'em twice as deep as they are wide. Cover the cells (or soil block indentations) with a bit of soil unless the seed requires light to germinate (check the seed packet first). Remember to take note of what cells each seed is in and write it down in your garden journal.
Step 4
Cover the tray with a clear, plastic humidity dome (unless the seed requires light to germinate). Place the tray on a heat mat if you have one, and under grow lights. Take the dome off once the seedlings begin to sprout.
Caring for Seedlings
Your seedlings have popped up, and you've got cells filled with healthy greenery. Now you just have to care for 'em! They'll need plenty of light, water, and a little fertilization (this is especially true if you used seed-starting mix).
Light
While growin' seedlings in a sunny window works for some folks, you'll likely need grow lights to give 'em the light they need. Seedlings will need 12-16 hours of light a day, and a timer can help make sure they get just the right amount, so you don't have to remember to switch 'em on and off.
Water
With the humidity dome on, you won't have to water too frequently, as it will keep a load of that water trapped inside. However, be sure the surface level of the soil stays moist, but not drenched. Once the seedlings start sproutin', you might want to take the dome off, as you don't want those seedlings to get dampening off disease. From then on, you'll have to keep 'em watered more frequently as the moisture evaporates faster, especially with the lights on.
Fertilizer
After your seedlings develop two sets of true leaves, you can start fertilizin' 'em with a liquid fertilizer like fish emulsion, which smells funky but works wonders. Be sure to fertilize onions, as they can be heavy feeders and don't have much surface area to photosynthesize. There are other fertilizers out there, but we've had the best results with fish emulsion.
Thinning
If you ended up plantin' extra seeds in a cell (which we don't usually do since we use soil blocks), you'll need to thin 'em out once they develop true leaves. You have two options: cut the smaller, weaker seedling and toss it in your compost, or carefully dig it up and transplant it into a new container.
Transplantin'
Your seedlings will likely need to be moved to larger pots once or twice before they go outside. Be sure to harden your seedlings off (gradually acclimating them to cooler temperatures and direct sun) for about 7-10 days before transplantin' to minimize shock to the new environment. Check out our article on how to pot up and transplant seedlings for more details.
Happy gardening, y'all!
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Exploring ever-expanding plant variety is a significant advantage of home-and-garden seed starting. With seeds, one can access uncommon strains that may not be available at local garden centers.
The homesteading lifestyle offers an opportunity to embrace diverse gardening methods, such as growing onions, peppers, tomatoes, and more from seed, even during short growing seasons.
