The Seed Starting Process

Lately I've been getting questions about what I do to "start" my seeds for the garden. So, since the Morehead Afterschool kids are starting seeds this week, I've gone ahead and documented my process.

I use the disc shaped peat plugs because they're small and cheap. You put them in water for about 5 minutes and they swell to be cylinder shaped.





Once the peat is thoroughly wet, you can then put a single seed into the top of each plug.




If the seeds are really small or white like these tomatillos, I usually put them on a flat surface with a lip around it (this is a lid to a food container) so that I don't lose them. Then you carefully put one in each peat plug and cover it with dirt. Usually the seed packets have directions on how deep to plant the seeds.




I've found that if you then put the seeds on a tray and cover them right away with a clear "greenhouse" top, they might stay too wet. So I let them sit out uncovered for a day and then put the clear dome on top to help keep the seeds warm. Ideal germination temperatures are usually 60-70 degrees (you can find this on the seed packets too). You can see a picture of my mini greenhouse in the tomato post below.

springing into action (or at least trying to)

The tomatoes now have their first true leaves which means that I'll be putting them into pots this weekend. That means there is space in the window for eggplants (started the seeds yesterday) and tomatillos (hopefully started today or tomorrow) and then my snap peas before too much longer.

Outside, most of my herbs are coming back so I'm ready for cooking up some yummy stuff here soon. I also have some extra tarragon so let me know if you want it (it's currently in the small green pot in the back of the picture and could get transplanted most anywhere with decent sun). The daffodils and hyacinths are also coming up and being the first blooms (other than weeds) in my yard.



















I'm also working to get my native wildflowers ready from the NC Botanical garden www.ncbg.unc.edu , which means that part of my fridge is being invaded by plants. Because the seeds are used to a cold winter before sprouting, you have to put them through stratification, or 1-2 months in the fridge, before they'll germinate. I just took a workshop on plant propiigation so hopefully the tips that I picked up there from the pros will lead to a higher success rate.


I also need to share my first mistake of the year. I've heard about plants like lettuce and spinach "bolting" when the get too hot. That means that leafy plants send up flowering shoots which also means that the yummy veggies get bitter. So I have recently experienced that broccoli bolts too! I got all excited that my broccoli finally started growing again and even flowering- but then I tasted the broccoli and found out that flower do not equal tasty. Oh well- the moral of the story is to pick your broccoli before it shoots up/bolts.