Starting seeds indoors is a good way to save money and to grow seeds that require a longer growing season than you have in your area. It also allows you to grow vegetables that are uncommon cultivars for your area. Instead of buying whatever tomatoes the garden shop in your area has available in the spring, you can grow those heirloom varieties you have read so much about.
Damping Off
Starting seed indoors isn’t rocket science, but it does require some care. The most common problem people have when starting seed indoors is a fungal disease called damping off. The seed grows, becomes a plant, then one day just keels over dead. This is due to poor sanitation and excessive moisture, both of which can be prevented.
Sterilize Seed Starting Containers
To start with, sterilize all your containers with a solution of one part bleach and nine parts water. Let the containers stand in this solution for at least ten minutes. Then rinse the containers completely to get all the bleach off. Now you are starting without any diseases or pests leftover from last year.
Use Sterilized Seed Starting Mix
Next, buy a sterilized soil mix intended for seed starting. A typical potting soil isn’t rich enough for the beginning seeds. If the soil is not sterilized, it may bring in diseases, pests, and weeds.
How To Safely Reuse Seed Starting Mix
If you reuse any soil or other component, sterilize it first by cooking it in an oven set at 250 degrees for approximately 30 minutes. This keeps diseases and pests from creeping into your garden on the soil.
Fill The Containers
Put the soil in the containers to the recommended depths and water it well. Do not skip the watering as the dry seed mix is water-resistant and if not wetted throughout, will dry out your seeds.
Planting The Seeds
Next, put the seeds in at the planting depth indicated on the packet and cover the pot with plastic wrap. Put in a warm place. As soon as you see the first shoots come up, remove the plastic wrap.
Give Light To Seedlings
Baby plants need light. The best like is a full spectrum grow light. Even a fluorescent bulb will work in a pinch. The light should be a couple of inches above the plants, As the plants grow, raise the light an inch at a time, always maintaining a couple of inches between the plant and the light. This will encourage the plant to grow in a compact, healthy manner. Plants with inadequate light grow long and spindly as they seek any light available.
Watering
Keep the soil moist but not soggy. Too much water encourages rot, but if the seedlings dry out they will die.
Hardening Off Your Seedlings
Once the seedlings are ready to plant, be sure to harden them off or they will die. This is a process of gradually introducing them to the outside by putting them out on the porch or other protected area for a few hours each day. Lengthen the amount of time they spend outside until by the end of the week they are out all day. Plant them early in the morning and be sure and water them in.
Want to learn to garden? My first attempt at gardening ended up in failure. The weeds took over and squeezed the vegetables out. I was very frustrated by this waste of good seed, time, and money. So I became a master gardener and spent a lot of time helping other people avoid or overcome problems in their garden.
In order to help others garden successfully, I have written a book, Vegetable Gardening from the Ground Up, available in an ebook or a paperback from Amazon. It is also in Kindle Unlimited.
