Starting Seeds-A Winter Task for Spring Gardening

 

At this time of year, nothing gets me more excited for Spring than to plant seeds for next year’s garden. On days when it’s really cold, I can sit in front of my fireplace, dream about a fully-stocked pantry and feel good about getting a jump start on the growing process.

If you’re like me, you look forward to the arrival of seed catalogs. I confess that I totally geek out over the endless possibilities that a seed catalog brings. On the downside, seed catalogs can be like an all-you-can-eat buffet where your eyes are bigger than your garden space. 

In this part of Texas, winter is almost non-existent so starting seeds in the middle of winter isn’t a far-fetched idea. We have the occasional frost and a hard freeze or two, but we rarely get snow. Therefore, it’s not totally out of the question to have a garden year round. However, even us die-hard gardeners need a break every once in awhile!

So while the cold winds blow, I sit in front of my fire, thumb through seed catalogs and plan my gardens. Because, let’s face it, you can’t just dig up the ground, throw down some seeds and expect a bounty. 

Well…I guess you could but I think you’d be really disappointed with the results. Gardens need to be planned. Trust me on this!

 

 

 

I wasn’t born with a green thumb.

Honestly, I’ve killed more plants than I care to admit! After spending a big chunk of change one Spring and only having a couple of tomatoes to show for it, I needed to figure out where I went wrong.

Now, here’s the shocker…I learned a lot just by reading the seed packet! I know, I know…that’s what the information is there for! Duh!!!

In my defense, I thought I knew how to plant seeds. After all, once I was old enough to know a weed from a plant, I was expected to help in the family garden. Looking back now, it occurs to me that my hands never actually touched a seed packet. I was just following orders. Mom pointed and I planted! 

Apparently I’d forgotten some really important stuff over the years!

When I finally took a good look at the information provided on the seed packets and put that information to use, I started seeing better results. And you can too, my friend!

 

Okay, where do we start?

First, make a list of veggies that you or your family eat on a regular basis. These veggies should be easy to grow and compatible for your growing area. If you’re new to gardening, it’s important to know that some plants do well in cooler climates while others prefer it hot. 

Likewise, some will do better planted in late fall versus early spring. Also, some plants will spend more time growing than others. For example, radishes can be planted and harvested in as little as three weeks! Whereas potatoes can stay in the ground until the first winter frost.

Also, keep in mind that some plants can’t be located next to certain other plants…they’ll take over or won’t grow at all! 

Sheeeesh, sounds like a lot of work, right? Well, yes it is…but it’s also totally worth it! So if you’re new to gardening, you might also want to start small. Knowing your plants will help you make better decisions about when, where and how to plant. If you’re relying on these seeds to grow and feed your family at some point in the near future, ya gotta have a plan!

Warning…math ahead!

Once you have an idea of what you want to plant, you need to figure out how much to plant. Seed packets will provide information on the recommended distance between each row and the distance between each plant. Some plants, like carrots and radishes, don’t need much room. Others like squash or melon need a lot.

Figuring out how many plants will fit in your garden space (and will provide enough harvest to feed the family) will require some math on your part. And with that statement, I’m sure math teachers everywhere are thumping their chests and thinking “I told you so”! 

If you need help in getting started, check out my Ultimate Garden Journal. It has everything you need to plan, care for, grow and harvest your best garden!

Pick your growing container:

My first choice, and one I highly recommend, are grow trays.  You can find these at your local gardening center. They come in different sizes and some even come in kits that include a heating mat and grow light. I love these things because they make it so stinkin’ easy to get your seeds off to a good start! There’s no mess and everything is neatly organized.

However, if grow trays or kits are not in the budget, you have options. You can save money and save the earth at the same time by recycling plastic containers.

If you’ve visited the blog previously, you know that I’m on a mission to remove plastic from my home. I’m not to the point of preventing all plastic from coming in…but I’m working on it. Instead of adding to the landfill, I try to recycle what I can. One way I do this is by using it for seed starting.

Did you know that rotisserie chicken containers make great mini-greenhouses? So do clear, take-out boxes from certain food establishments. Anything that has a clear lid, is waterproof and has enough head room for growing sprouts will work. Just make sure you wash them really good with hot, soapy water to remove any food residue prior to use.

Confession time and a lesson learned:

I once recycled a plastic container that I thought would work great for sprouting seeds. It was long, tall and had a clear lid. But it also used to contain commercial cleaning cloths. As a result, none of the seeds I had lovingly planted ever saw the light of day.

Not a one!

Moral of the story? Plastic containers that previously held any sort of cleaning solution should probably not be used. If that is all you have, you’ll want to wash it, allow it to air dry and then wash it again. Even then, you should be aware that seeds still may not sprout.

 

Pick a growing medium:

Growing medium is just another word for the soil you intend to plant in. Above, I’m using two different types. One is a seed-starting mix. It can be found at any garden center and is formulated specifically for seeds.

The other is peat pellets. You’ll find these mostly in the grow trays mentioned earlier but they also come in refills. I like peat pellets because you can plant quickly and there is no mess. Plus, kids (and some adults) are absolutely mesmerized at seeing them swell up in water! 

While technically not a growing medium, seed tapes can make planting tiny seeds so much easier!

There is one more option:

Garden soil. It’s a good idea to have your soil tested first to make sure it has the right balance of nutrients for the items you intend to grow.

A good soil test kit will not only tell you what type of soil you have but should provide suggestions on how to improve the soil before planting. If you’re new to gardening or have never grown anything in your current garden spot, it’s an invaluable tool that will save you time, money and headaches down the road.

Really, there are no rules when it comes to your growing medium. Feel free to use whatever you’re comfortable with and works well for your purpose and pocketbook. 

 

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“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow” — Audrey Hepburn

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When to plant:

Knowing your frost dates will help tremendously when it’s time to plant seeds. Frost dates are the first day of the year and the last day of the year that frost is expected for your area. It should go without saying that putting out plants while there is still a chance of frost is a waste of your time and money.

If you’re new in the neighborhood, your local extension office should be able to tell you these dates. If you’ve lived in the area long enough, you may already know them. Or you can do what I do…consult the Old Farmers Almanac.

Once you know your frost dates, read the information found on the back of your seed packets.  It will tell you how many days before or after the frost to start seeds and if they need to be sown indoors or outdoors.

Planting according to frost dates ensures that your plants will be mature enough for planting outside once the soil has warmed up.

Keep your seeds warm:

Some grow trays come in a kit that includes a heating mat. The heating mat keeps your growing medium at the right temperature so the seeds germinate (sprout) quickly. Some of these mats can be expensive.

I have found that the top of my fridge and upright freezer are the perfect place for grow trays. It’s warm up there but not hot. Seeds don’t need light to germinate…just warmth. So if you don’t have room on top of the fridge, place them in the warmest room of your house, near (but not next to) a heat source.

A word of caution regarding heating pads:

I have known people who use regular heating pads in place of a heating mat. Heating pads were not designed for this and could be dangerous if water is spilled on them or there is no automatic shut-off.

Additionally, even on a low setting, heating pads get much warmer than a heating mat and could destroy your seeds before they have a chance to germinate. Please, use your best judgement and play it safe. You don’t want to take any chances with that future harvest!

 

 

A word about lighting:

Let me just get this off my chest…grow lights are expensive! I think the companies who make grow lights think us peasants won’t know the difference between a grow light and a shop light! Which brings me to my next money-saving suggestion: use a shop light!

We purchased one from our garden center for about $20. We purchased two different bulbs as well…one “daylight” bulb and one “warm” bulb. Total cost was less than $40. So, unless you really like the idea who having a gen-U-wine growing system, save the $300 and put it toward something else.

When using a grow light, it’s important to make sure the light hangs just a few inches above the plants. If the light is too high, the young seedlings become “leggy” trying to reach toward the light. Although most shop lights come with a chain for hanging, our light did not. So we rigged up our own “pulley” system using mule tape that hubby had left over from a construction job. You could use rope as well.

Keep in mind that if you purchase a light with a chain, it may be difficult or inconvenient to move the light up as your plants get taller.

Air movement is important!

Once your sprouts are up and free of the confining lid, it’s time for some air. Air movement is important for several reasons: 1) it  makes the stems of the plants stronger. 2) It helps prevent “damping off” which is a fungus that can attack young plants and kill them very quickly. 3) Air movement helps to control the little gnats that always seem to find young plants.

We have a ceiling fan that runs 24/7. But you may chose to use a table-top or oscillating fan. Don’t point the fan directly at the plants. Keep it on low speed and make sure it moves back and forth. You want air movement that mimics a gentle breeze.

Don’t have a fan? Then lightly brush the tops of your young seedlings with your hand every time you walk by them. Again, this will make the stems stronger and they’ll have a better chance of survival when they’re transplanted outside.

When to use soil from the garden…and when not to:

Using soil from the garden is a cost-effective way of seed starting. Before we started growing in bulk, it was one we primarily used. Unfortunately, this winter when we were ready to plant seeds, I was running low on peat pellets. Our local garden center was out and had no plans to restock until next Spring. And we had recently added manure to the gardens. That made the garden soil unusable for seed starting. So we had to settle for a combination of the peat pellets leftover from the spring planting and a seed-starting mix.

In case you didn’t know, manure that hasn’t fully matured or is too fresh, will cause a chemical reaction that can damage your seeds and plants. Nitrogen, while great for adding nutrients to the soil, also produces a lot of heat. If you use manure in your garden, make sure you let it sit a few weeks before planting anything. Otherwise, it will burn your plants.

Something to think about:

If you know your store will remove grow trays, pellets and biodegradable peat pots from their shelves in the off-season, it would be wise to stock up before they disappear. These items generally don’t return to the shelves until the following Spring, just before planting time. Ideally, you want your plants to already be sprouted and several weeks old by then. 

Again, planning is key!

My go-to for most seed or plant information:

The Old Farmers Almanac is an invaluable tool if you are a newbie (or rusty) at gardening. I consider it my “Bible” and never plan a garden without consulting it first.

Not only will it give you information on the weather and frost dates, it will also give you a list of popular plants and the best dates to plant outdoors for either an early or late harvest! All you have to do is calculate when to start the seeds so your plants are ready for the great outdoors when those dates roll around.

Ugh…more math…sorry!

This is my strategy…it might work for you too:

Grow trays come with instructions to prop the lid open once the seeds have sprouted. This lets the plants grow taller and also prevents mildew. But I only have so many grow trays. My requirement for a certain number of plants exceeds the capacity of my grow trays. This is the nature of the beast when you’re in the hot sauce business. 

But I digress.

If you plant in bulk like I do, you might want to try this: once your sprouts are up, place them in a small container (like the disposable snack cups shown below and labeled with the plant name) and put them under a separate grow light. An old baking sheet or disposable aluminum pan would work too and makes for easier transporting. Just make sure that whatever you use will hold water.  

When your young sprouts have about three sets of leaves, it’s time for a bigger pot. Once they’re re-potted, they can either stay under the grow light or be placed in a sunny window until the weather warms up enough for planting outside.

 

 

And then there were seedlings!

These are just a few of my babies…aren’t they adorable! These little pepper seedlings will eventually produce the main ingredient in our homemade hot sauce. The main garden will hold between 80-90 pepper plants. The second garden will hold about half that. The third garden is strictly for veggies. As you can see, It’s a lot of seeds!

I’m embarrassed to admit that when we first started our hot sauce business, we nearly went broke trying to buy all the plants we needed. 

But not anymore! Now I save the seeds from our best produce and use them to start the next generation of pepper plants. Saving seeds is not hard. And when you do, you can literally grow a garden for FREE!  If you plant in bulk like we do, seed saving is your best friend! You can learn more about saving seeds here

So…what’s next?

These little guys in the photo are just starting to put on their second set of leaves. That means those little cups won’t hold them much longer. When we first started out, we transplanted to either a 3 inch or 5 inch peat pot until it was time for transplanting outside. Peat pot and all went right into the ground!

But saving money was also a priority and that many peat pots can get kinda expensive! So instead of buying hundreds of biodegradable pots, I started making my own. Once again, I’m recycling something that might have went to the landfill…old newspapers!

Yes, saving seeds and making biodegradable pots takes a little time. Surprisingly, this whole process is also very therapeutic!  And it’s something the kids can help with during those winter nights spent in front of the fire. I’m a big fan of teaching kids where food really comes from and how easy it is to grow. They’re never too young to learn these things!

You can learn how to make newspaper pots by clicking here.

That wasn’t so hard, was it?

And just think, you now know how to save seeds, save money and save the planet! Look at you go! You’re my hero!

For a lot of people, winter is the perfect time to be planting seeds for next year’s garden. It’s never too early to plan for spring and the prospect of a summer bounty somehow makes winter weather more bearable!

If you know your frost dates and plant seeds according to the instructions on the seed packet, you’re sure to have nice-looking, healthy plants that are mature enough to put in the ground once the last frost has passed. 

Are you planning a spring garden? What is your favorite money-saving tip when it comes to your garden? I’d love to hear from you so leave a comment below! And if you know someone who needs a little garden help, feel free to share this post!

Until next time,

lisa

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